I'll Be There For You
by Mechhasylum
Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together, despite their complicated past.**

**A/N: Before you read this: This story will have scenes that some readers may not find suitable. This chapter, and the one after, contains tragedy and _character death_.****This is a Rachel/Puck fic, but Puck himself doesn't actually get introduced into the story for another few chapters. Sorry about that, but the background information is necessary, or at least I think that it is.  
-This story was inspired in part by the ****Bon Jovi**** song**** I'll Be There For You****.-**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of it's character or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to ****Ryan Murphy**** and ****Fox****.  
I do not own the song by ****Bon Jovi****, I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

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She woke to screams and the smell of burning fabric and metal. Her head was pounding, and she was having trouble seeing through the black smoke that hung thickly in the air. She could feel that she was upside down. All the blood from her body had rushed to her skull, and was settling there. She could feel the mask on her face that kept her alive as the plane practically fell out of the sky.

She maneuvered her body in an effort to get down from her seat safely. She unbuckled herself when she felt she was in the right place. Her legs felt like jelly as they touched the ground. She found herself having to clutch onto the arm of her seat so she didn't fall to the ground.

She could smell something else in the air now, it was more distinct than the fabric and steel. Smells like copper. She was vaguely aware that she was smelling blood. The fact didn't really register with her. She couldn't concentrate on anything. Her focus was everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Daddy. Her thoughts were scattered, but she could feel something was wrong. On instinct she looked at the chair her father was sitting in, forgetting that she could barely make out the shape of her own hand.

"Daddy?" She called out, choking on the smoke that was making its way into her lungs. "Daddy!" She started frantically searching around her for her father. She was using her hands to make up for her lack of sight.

He wasn't in the chair that was next to her. She moved her search to the ground, or the ceiling of the plane since it was upside down. Her hands hit the leg of a body. She thought for sure that the person would stir since her hands hit them rather hard, but the person didn't even flinch. She ran her hands around the body trying to find the hands. She knew that her father wore two rings on his left hand. His wedding band that her dad gave him was worn on his ring finger. A thick ring with a heavy stone was on the index finger.

She found an arm, but knew that she would find nothing on the right. She went across to the other side, it felt like her hands were covered in soda. The stick mess coated her palm but she continued to the left arm without another thought.

The left hand was adorned with two rings, one on the ring finger and another on the index. She could feel the contours of the stone on the index ring. She knew that the person on the ground was her father. It scared her when she recalled that he hadn't moved when she hit his leg.

"Daddy." She took him into her arms and shook him. He was a small man, about her size, only a head taller and several pounds heavier. He felt heavier. "Daddy, wake up." She continued to shake him, but her efforts failed. "Help!" She called over her shoulder. She began coughing again as more smoke went into her lungs. "Hello? Can anyone help?" She called again.

But no one came. She lifted her father a bit more so she could drag him out of the wreckage.

She was nearly to the entrance when a group of figures blocked the light.

"Help!" She called again. The figures rushed to her. "It's my dad, he is unconscious." She was in hysterics by that point, unable to hang on anymore. She took a deep breath, but remembered that she was in an enclosed space with no clean air. Three figures took her father from her and carried him the light. Another helped her up and outside as well.

She inhaled deeply when she was away from the smoke. The clear air burned her throat.

"Excuse me? That was your father?" She nodded at a man that spoke to her. "The ambulance is coming in about two minutes. We are near Cincinnati, so that is fortunate. You both will need to get checked."

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked, her voice weak and fragile.

"I'm not a doctor miss. I don't know." He walked away, leaving her with the motionless body that belonged to her father.

She looked around her, watching a tragic scene unfold. Groups of people were huddled together. Some near motionless bodies, much like herself, and others hanging on to those they loved. Everyone was crying, babies were screaming. It was almost chaos. In a way it reminded her of Lost the television show, except they weren't trapped on an island.

She sobbed and clung to her father. No one dared touch the teenager, no one dared to speak to her either.

"Daddy, I love you." She whispered. "Please be okay."

The ambulance took her and her father to The Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. A team of emergency doctors and nurses rushed her father away on a gurney.

"Ma'am? Can you tell me your name?" A stout lady with orange red hair spoke to her softly.

"Rachel Berry."

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**This is my first story on this site.  
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**Please review, I'd love to know what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its character or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to ****Ryan Murphy**** and ****Fox****.  
I do not own the song by ****Bon Jovi****; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

**A/N: I am overwhelmed by the amount of subscriptions, reviews, and favorites. Thank you all so much.  
I tried to update earlier, but things didn't work how I planned.**

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"Okay, Miss. Berry." The stout woman scribbled on the paper in front of her. "There is a bathroom down this hall to your left; you can use it to clean yourself up. When you are done we can get you into an exam room." The woman smiled at Rachel. "My name is Cherylin; if you need anything just let me know." Cherylin turned away and gave her full attention to a computer screen. Rachel took the hint that she was dismissed.

Rachel went to her left and made her way down the hall. She stopped in front of a door. The sign to the right of the door read _Women's_. She lightly ran her fingers over the Braille bumps. She noticed that her fingers were reddish. She instantly recalled the sticky feeling on her hands after the crash. The thought made her cringe.

She hesitated with her hand on the silver handle of the door. After a few moments of staring at the door she pushed it open.

The bathroom was like all others inside medical facilities. The toilet and sink were stark white porcelain. The counter top that held the sink was imitation gray granite. She looked above the sink and found the thing she dreaded. The mirror. She didn't want to look at herself in fear of what, or who, she would see there. She knew that it wouldn't be the Rachel from a few hours ago.

She inhaled deeply and shuffled slowly to the mirror. She took her place in front of the reflective glass, though she still had her eyes downcast. She trailed her eyes up to take a look at her reflection.

She took in her appearance, appalled that she looked like a murder victim. Blood was crusted in her hair, smeared on her face and arms, and embedded in her once white shirt. The blood on her skin was a dark and dry red and on her shirt the stains were quickly turning brownish, looking like it had been there for a while.

She turned to the wall that held a paper towel dispenser. She hurriedly pressed down on the lever several times and gathered the thick white paper in his hands.

She put the towels under the faucet and turned it on. She made sure they were completely soaked. She brought the towels up to her face and started to scrub the dried mess off her face.

The copper smell had returned, turning her stomach and threatening to empty what little was remaining. She blinked and swallowed begging the feeling to stop.

She continued to clean her face and started on her arms. The white sink took on an almost pink color.

It took a while to get the blood off her skin. She didn't stay and study how she looked. She needed to get the hell out of the tiny room

Cherylin was still at her desk. Her attention was on a file.

"Um, excuse me, Cherylin?" The woman smiled.

"If you will follow me." Cherylin left the desk and went to where the exam rooms were. "Take a seat in here; I'll get you a doctor." It only took a minute for Cherylin to bring a sand blond doctor to the room. He was tall, and even thought he was wearing scrubs, Rachel noticed he had definition in his biceps.

"Rachel Berry, correct?" the doctor looked at the chart in his hand, and then moved his eyes to her. Rachel nodded timidly. "I'm Dr. Colebeck. I'm going to ask you a few questions. First, is there anyone you need us to call?" Rachel took a breath.

"Alexander Berry. He's my other dad. He is probably worried sick." Dr. Colebeck motioned Cherylin over.

"Where is he located?"  
"Lima." Cherylin nodded then quickly left the room.

"Rachel, how old are you?" Dr. Colebeck started to look over her face.

"I'm sixteen." She spoke, but her voice wasn't entirely clear. Dr. Colebeck touched near her nose making her wince.

"Well, it looks like your nose is broken. You'll have a nasty bruise for a while." He continued to look over her staying quiet for a while. "You've got a really big cut just above your left eye. We are going to need to stitch that up in a bit. Other than that, you only have a few scratches here and there on your face or neck. You've got quite a lot of bruises on your arms and torso." He checked her arms, wrists, legs, ankles, and ribcage looking for any sign that she was in pain. "It looks like you lucked out. Nothing else is broken." He smiled lightly. "I'll be right back, I'm going to go get some stuff to clean out that cut and stitch it up."

Rachel was left alone with her thoughts. She could only imagine what her body could have been. He said that she was lucky, she could be completely broken. Or worse. She touched above her eye and hissed in pain. The door opened again, taking her away from the things she was thinking.

"Alright, let's get started." Dr. Colebeck stitched up the cut with a steady hand. He tried his hardest to keep her from feeling it. He checked all her vitals and frowned. "Your heart rate is elevated, and your breathing is extremely labored." He scribbled things down on the chart he brought in with him. "Well, Rachel. You're good for now. I want you to follow up with your doctor. Or you can come back here and see me. I don't want you to go too long without seeing a doctor. Be careful not to be near any more smoke, and take care of that cut, it could get a terrible infection." He made a face that made her laugh.

"Thank you." Rachel said quietly.

Rachel left the exam room and found her way back into the emergency waiting room. She worried about how her daddy was doing, and wondered if he was still in surgery.

When she finally returned to Cherylins station, Cherylin had just hung up the phone.

"Hi, um, can I ask how Paul Berry is? He is my daddy." Cherylin nodded and pick up the phone she had just hung up. She pressed a few numbers and waited a few seconds for someone to answer.

"Hello Monica. This is Cherylin from Emergency. I have a Rachel Berry here inquiring about Paul Berry." She paused. "She is the daughter." Another pause from Cherylin. "Mmhmm. I'm going to send her up. Thank you Monica." Cherylin hung up the phone again. "On the second floor you will find the surgery ward. Monica is at the front desk there."

"Thank you." Was the small response that came from Rachel. Cherylin nodded once.

Rachel was quick to find the elevator. She pressed the up button to call for the elevator. She pressed it again and again. She silently scolded herself knowing that it wouldn't make the process any faster. She watched the LED screen that showed her what floor the elevator was on. The number crawled down from 6 and took forever to reach 1.

The doors opened, revealing an empty elevator car. She got inside and pressed the number two button.

The elevator made the ding noise and opened to the second floor. Rachel stepped out and immediately observed that this floors decor was mean to be cheerful. The blues of the wall were set in a design that she thought was painted to seem as though it was moving.

She looked around and saw the front desk. She was quick to get to it. The woman sitting there was older, maybe 50 or so. Her hair was nearly all silver. It looked like she had dark hair when she was younger.

"Monica?" Rachel's voice was high and raspy; she didn't think it was even possible to make a sound like that.

"Yes dear, may I help you?" The lady had a smile that was a lot warmer than the one that Cherylin had.

"I'm Rachel Berry. Cherylin just called you."  
"Oh, of course dear. What was your father's name again?"

"Paul Berry." Monica slipped glasses onto her face and pecked the keys of her computers keyboard.

"He is in surgery dear." Monica's voice was gentle, and caring.

"Do you know how long he will be?"

"No sweetie I don't. I'm sorry." Rachel sighed.

"Thank you. Is there a place I can wait?" Monica nodded.

"There is a room behind you. I'll let you know about your father."

Rachel didn't say anything else to the woman who still sat behind the desk. She was numb.

_What did Daddy need surgery for?_

She paced the room.

_Why are all the rooms in this place so small? It's ridiculous._

Rachel's mind filled with so many thoughts that it began to feel like her head was going to explode. She just couldn't deal with a headache on top of all the worry she was experiencing.

She stopped pacing and glanced at the couch. It looked inviting. Rachel decided to give in and at least try to calm her nerves. She sat on the couch and realized that it was much more comfortable than she had expected.

She heard a man's frantic voice had woken her up. She didn't even know that she had fallen asleep.

"I'm Alexander Berry. I was told that Paul Berry was here in surgery."

Rachel surged off the couch and went straight to the main hallway. She found her dad leaning against Monica's desk.

"Also, the lady in emergency told me that my daughter Rachel was-"  
"Dad." Rachel cut off the semi-rant that her dad had started. Alexander turned to Rachel and started to walk toward her.

"Baby girl, I am so glad to see you. I was so worried when I was told what happened. You and Daddy had your phones off, and I couldn't get a hold of you. And then that lady called and told me that you both were here. I left the house faster than I ever have." Alexander grabbed his daughter and squeezed her in a tight embrace. When he let go he faced Monica again.

"Is Paul out of surgery?"  
"No, not yet." Alexander nodded. Rachel moved to be in front of her dad. He reached his hand out and touched her forehead. His fingers stayed on the stitches.

"Baby girl are you okay? This looks pretty deep."  
"I'm fine Dad. A doctor already checked everything. He said my nose is broken, the cut on my head, so scratches and bruises here and there, but nothing too serious." Alexander held onto his daughter again.

"We should sit, okay Dad?"

Rachel led her dad to the little waiting room. They held hands and just waited.

Twenty minutes went by, and it seemed like forever to them. Someone knocked, causing Rachel and her dad to snap their eyes up to meet the figure of a doctor.

"Are you Paul Berry's family?" Alexander stood up.

"Yes, I'm Alexander Berry." He extended his hand to the doctor. The doctor took the offered hand for a brief shake.

"I'm Dr. Wayridge. Shall we go somewhere away from here to talk?"  
"No, my daughter has every right to hear."  
"Okay. Paul needed extensive repair surgery. Several pieces of shrapnel had dug themselves into his skin and severed several veins and even an artery. One had pierced his stomach." Rachel felt bile rise in her throat. "We worked for nearly three hours, but as we repaired his vitals began to slip. He was unable to make it through the procedure. I am so sorry to both of you for your loss."

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**This chapter had a mind of it's own really. It came out so much differently than I had intended, but I think it will work.  
Please review and tell me what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its character or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to ****Ryan Murphy**** and ****Fox****.  
I do not own the song by ****Bon Jovi****; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

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Dr. Wayridge hated this part of his job. Watching a family fall apart when they heard the news was the hardest thing he has ever had to witness. Normally he didn't let the loss of a patient affect him, and he steeled himself for the reaction that the family would have. There was something different about the Berry's. Something that struck a chord with the doctor.

The doctor found himself looking at the thick gold band on his left hand and understood exactly why he felt this way. Dr. Allen Wayridge knew what it was like to lose the most important person in your life. He had lost Rod, his partner of eleven years, to cancer nearly six months ago.

Alexander took in a strangled breath and sunk to the tile floor. Rachel followed him but landed on her knees. Alexander leaned into his daughter and shook as he cried. Rachel hugged her dad with all the strength she could muster.

"Dad." Rachel tried to keep her voice calm in order to calm her dad, but she knew that she was failing miserably. The tears were swimming in her eyes and she was losing her edge of calm control.

"Paulie." Alexander breathed the nickname over and over.

"Mr. Berry, let's go to my office. It is more comfortable there." Dr. Wayridge spoke softly.

After taking a moment to collect themselves, Rachel and Alexander followed the doctor into his office. The oak door was emblazoned with _Dr. Allen Wayridge Ph.D_.

Dr. Wayridge guided Alexander and Rachel to the chairs in front of his desk. Rachel sat down and had to pull her dad into the empty chair that sat next to her.

"I know that the news is still fresh, but I need you to sign a few papers." Dr. Wayridge let his 'professional' voice take control. He knew that his normal voice would tremble.

"Mr. Berry?" Dr. Wayridge questioned the grieving man that was in front of him.

"Dad, the doctor needs you to sign some things."

"Huh?" Alexander snapped out of a trace and looked confused.

"I need you to sign a few documents." The doctor prompted. He slid some papers and a pen toward Alexander.

"Oh, of course." Alexander grabbed the pen. His hand was shaking violently making his signature very hard to read.

After everything was signed he set the pen back on the desk.

"Can we see Paul?" Alexander asked, his voice was nearly too soft to hear.

"Let me check." Dr. Wayridge left his office only to return not a minute later with Monica.

"Monica will take you to where he is."

Monica took Alexander's hand and led him to the elevator. Rachel followed with her eyes trained on the floor. When they stepped next to the doors, Monica pressed the down button.

The elevator arrived and the three climbed inside. Monica pressed a button labeled 'B'. Rachel felt a sick sense of dread after she comprehended that they were on their way to the hospitals morgue.

The elevator opened its doors once more, showing a dull gray wall. Monica led them to an unmarked door.

"This is the viewing and identification room." Monica paused to allow the other two to gather their bearings and opened the door.

Inside the room was a metal table with a mass of lifelessness upon it. Paul Berry lay there with his eyes closed, looking almost peaceful. There was a bluish white sheet covering his body. Alexander rushed to him and hugged the only man he had ever loved. He hugged Paul with everything he had, and it didn't seem like nearly enough.

"Paul, I love you so much. I'll miss you more than you can imagine." Alexander sobbed. Rachel felt her heart break at the amount of pain she heard in the voice of her dad held.

"I love you daddy." Rachel whispered while she took a hand from each of the men she called her fathers. More tears were shed as Rachel and Alexander held on to Paul.

"Where are the rings?" Alexander demanded. Monica jumped at the yell. She wordlessly retrieved an envelope from a shelf next to the door, she silently handed it to him.

It was just a simple manila envelope but Alexander held it tenderly. He opened it and turned it upside down above his palm. Two rings clanged into his hand. He closed the hand with affection, acting as though he was protecting the rings from something.

Alexander and Rachel just stood in the room. Both felt the loss deep in their hearts. Neither of them spoke, they were both too numb.

"Do you want the rest of Paul's belongings?" Monica spoke shyly, clearly afraid of another outburst reaction. Instead she got nothing from Mr. Berry.

"Yes. That would be good." Rachel responded with a voice that was stiff and robotic, no feeling in it other than tragic loss.

Monica didn't say anything as she collected the white bag that held a wallet, clothes, and shoes that had once been on Paul's person. She motioned to Rachel, trying to get the girls attention. Rachel made no effort to move.

Monica looked at them with sadness. They were too young to experience a trauma of this magnitude. She laid the bag at Rachel's feet and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

The Berry's stayed in the room with Paul for a while after Monica left. They said their goodbyes to a man that they both loved more than words could express.

They didn't speak on the way to the car. They didn't speak when they got into the car. They didn't speak on the drive home.

Everything was just silence.

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**This chapter is kind of short just like the first, but Chapter 4 makes up for that.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to ****Ryan Murphy**** and ****Fox****.**

**I do not own the song by ****Bon Jovi****; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

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**A/n: Thank you to all of you who are reading this.

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No matter what Rachel did, she couldn't hide the painting of bruises that had been left on her face after the crash. No amount of makeup could reduce the hideous black and blue circles that had formed in rings around both of her eyes.

"Ughh!" Rachel huffed in anger. It had been over a week since the crash. The bruises were just as dark as the day she got them. The cut on her forehead was red and screamed in pain every time she scrunched her eyebrows together. There was no way to cover the cut, which was making her even more irritated.

She was sure that by now everyone had heard about the crash. That meant that they knew she had lost her Daddy. She wouldn't have to answer questions. She wouldn't even have to talk. No one would blame her for living quietly.

Her plan was to avoid everyone as much as possible. She wasn't exactly sure how well that would work. She was bound to get a slushie to the face courtesy of Noah Puckerman.

_It's like he has made it a personal mission to make my life a living hell._ Her thought was bitter.

She didn't have real friends to help her out, not even Finn. Sure, he was her friend. But only when Quinn isn't around. The glee kids hated her, but Rachel knew that there was nothing she would do about it. She knew that Finn actually liked her as a person, but she wasn't comforted by the fact that she would have to face all the eyes staring at her by herself.

She let out another angry huff and slammed out of her bathroom. She grabbed an extra set of clothes and shoved them in her bag then bounded down the stairs.

"I'm going to school." Rachel spoke toward the kitchen where her dad was sitting.

"Have a good day baby girl. Don't forget that I need you home after school so don't stay in auditorium forever." Her dad spoke in all seriousness. He knew his daughter liked to run from the things that were bothering her.

"Okay." She mumbled.

"I'm serious Rachel." His figure appeared in the living room.  
"I know you are dad. I'll be here. Promise." She looked at him and showed him that she was being honest.

"Okay. I love you baby girl."  
"Love you." She kissed his cheek and turned to leave the house.

She felt the eyes on her all day. Sets of eyes that hadn't ever noticed her before were now sweeping over her. Taking in her broken presence and sending a rush of pity her way. She didn't want their pity. She wanted her daddy back.

The image of Paul flooded her mind's eye. Rachel blinked several times but it was too late. The tears had already started to pour down her face.

She ran outside to take refuge under a tree. She slammed herself against the tree and slipped to the ground. She was only vaguely aware that her back was being scratched by the bark of the tree as she made her way to the ground.

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut, but nothing would stop these tears from coming. Nothing could make them go away. So she let them fall.

"Daddy," she sobbed, knowing that somehow, he would be able to hear her. "I miss you so much. Dad is crazy without you, he doesn't know left from right anymore. He cries a lot. Everything reminds him of you, and he just breaks down." Rachel started to heave breaths into her lungs. She was crying harder than she had in a long time. "I'm trying to be strong but it's so hard not having you with us. You meant everything to us. And now you are gone." She sniffed. "I love you." Her last words were a whisper as she fell into a silent show of tears and heavy intakes of air.

Puck was sick and tired of all the bullshit fuss people were making over Rachel. So what, she lost her dad, so did he. Maybe not in the same way; but to Puck, his dad was dead. People were constantly talking about how Rachel looked, that she must be so sad. It was bullshit.

_Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit_. He repeated these words over and over again.

He was on his way to the track to run some laps before he went to his next class. He had set his bag down on one of the benches near the track when he heard crying. He knew that it was a girl. It must be someone he knows because he recognized the sound.

He looked around to find the person who was crying. He saw someone slumped against a tree, shaking with sadness. He started to approach her when he noticed who it was.

Rachel.

He didn't want to deal with her. He had heard enough about her to last him a lifetime. But his mom raised him a gentleman, and a gentleman doesn't leave a crying girl alone. He sighed and continued to walk in her direction.

"Berry." He called. His voice startled her, drawing her eyes from the grass. Her eyes were red, bloodshot almost. Her face was soaked with tears. He hadn't paid attention before, but now he saw the bruises. The cut. "What happened?" He asked.

"Like you care."  
"I don't. You just seem like you need someone to listen to you." He spoke slowly.

"I don't need your pity. I've gotten enough from everyone else today."

"It isn't pity. You need someone to listen to you, I'm here. As soon as you're done, I'll forget all about it." Rachel glared. She knew he was right. She did need someone to listen to her. She wanted it to be someone who cared about her. Puck definitely didn't care, but at least it was better than talking to the empty space in the air she had been speaking to previously.

"Fine. Take a seat." Puck nodded. He motioned for her to start. "Paul, my daddy, died nine days ago. Plane crashed and he didn't make it. I was on the plane too." Rachel paused to inhale a shaky breath. "I was lucky. I only got these bruises and a cut. He got lots of shrapnel embedded into his skin. I tried to help him. Tried to get him out of the plane, but there was so much smoke that I couldn't breathe. A few men came into the area and took him outside." Rachel felt a new gallon of tears surface. She hadn't told anyone the story. "I stayed next to him until an ambulance got there. He was rushed to surgery before I could even blink. I went into the bathroom to get cleaned up. I saw-" she swallowed. "I had his blood all over me. In my hair, on my clothes. It was smeared over my skin. His blood." Rachel stopped. She didn't want to talk anymore; she didn't want to think about this anymore.

She expected Puck to get up and leave, but he didn't. He gave her a towel to dry her tears. It was a small gesture of kindness that shocked Rachel.

"I want to say something. But I don't know what to say." Puck started.

"That wasn't the deal. You listened; you did what you said you would. I bet you even hated hearing about me all the time. Maybe thought that I deserved it."  
"No. One. Deserves that." Puck said forcefully. "And yeah, I did hate it. But I didn't know the whole story. Now I do. Now I know why you look sad instead of hearing what other people think the reason is. You think it's your fault."  
"It is my fault. I made him take me to a stupid musical. If I would have just left it alone, he would still be here."  
"Everything happens for a reason. I know."  
"How would you know?"  
"My dad left my mom when I was a kid." He shrugged. "That is how I would know. I would be a different person had he stayed, but he didn't and now I'm me."  
"An arrogant jackass." Rachel said lowly.

"What did you just call me?"  
"I called you an arrogant jackass. That is what you are. You can disagree, but you know that I'm right." Puck sighed.

"It's not like I want to be an 'arrogant jackass.'" He used air quotes to prove a point. "It just happens. I have been the same way for years. My dad leaving taught me to be strong." He looked at her with soft eyes. "You need to be strong Rachel. You know your dad wouldn't want you to be miserable." Puck looked at her eyes. They were avoiding his.

"Um, thank you No- I mean Puck. Thanks for listening." He nodded.

They both got up at the same time and went their separate ways without a glance backward.

He couldn't wrap his head around what had just happened. He actually wanted to help her feel better. _Seeing her cry must have made you feel sorry for her._ He tried to convince himself that what he was thinking was true. He shook his head and started to sprint around the track, clearing his mind of everything.

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**I know I said this chapter would make up for the last being so short. I hope it met your expectations.**

**I apologize for the wait on this chapter. It was finals week, and I was really busy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

_**

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**Thank you to everyone that is reading this story. **

_**alley85- **__Thank you so much. I try to make the reader feel connected to my stories. I did good on my finals, I appreciate the well wishes._

_**blue18eyes- **__I cried while writing that scene. Hope you did great on the final._

_**jessirose85- **__Merry (late) Christmas. Happy (early) New Year!_

_**couragetcd- **__I certainly hope that there will be humor soon. I'm working on it!_

_**ChamberlinofMusic- **__= ) Me as well. Rachel needed a listener._

_**Anarchist278- **__Thank you! I was trying to keep Puck as realistic as possible. I didn't want to change him, I like him edgy._

_**emo nemo96- **__Thanks for the review. Here is that update!_

_**love is overrated- **__Thank you so much!

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Rachel didn't go back to the school after her talk with Puck. She didn't understand him. She knew that he wasn't nice to people below him on the social totem pole, specifically her. _What caused him to suddenly become human around me?_ She had never been more confused about another person's motives. He let her get everything off her chest. There was no reason for him to be nice to her, yet he still sat through her mini-speech. She had even cried.

Suddenly Puck's motive became all too clear. She knew that Puck was the type of guy that found someone's weakness and then exploited it for laughs.

_Damn it Rachel! _Her head screamed at her. _How could you be so stupid? Letting him see weakness, where was your head?_

She knew that tomorrow would bring taunting far worse than she could ever prepare herself for. The only thing she didn't know was how he was going to make it happen. Would he just make fun of her by himself, or would he tell everyone else what happened and have them join him? What exactly would he tell everyone? That the girl who lost her father was crying? That she is a sad sorry shell of a human and that she is looking for pity?

She gathered a renewed sense of confidence. No one could blame her for being weak, not a single person could because she had lost someone important. There was no way she was going to be made fun of for mourning.

The bell that signaled the end of the day rang over the school grounds. Rachel, who had sat herself under another tree, jumped up feeling anxious to get home. She was heading toward the exit of the field when she realized that all her stuff was still in her locker. She wanted to just leave the objects where they were but knew she would have to answer questions from her dad.

She turned around and slowly made her way back to the loud hallways that made the school see like a maze. She was happy to find that they were empty of the most part.

She had left her phone in her bag and had a sinking feeling that no one had texted her. Then again, she never expected contact.

When she flipped open her phone she was surprised to see that she had texts and a missed call.

All of which were from Finn.

From: Finn Hudson 1:37 pm

rach ware r u?

From: Finn Hudson 2:54 pm

im worried. u wrnt in class. meet me?

Rachel hit the reply button and typed a short message.

-When 'nd where

After hitting send she continued to take things out of her locker and placing them in her bag until she got another message from Finn.

From: Finn Hudson 3:09 pm

n 2 hrs usual place

Rachel responded with a simple 'ok' and deposited the phone in her bag once again. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she exited the school to make her way back to her house.

Rachel walked through the front door and into complete chaos. Her dad was carrying a box upstairs.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Alexander poked his head out of the room he had shared with Paul.

"Daddy always talked about donating some of his old clothes, but never got to."  
"Is that why I needed to come home straight after school?"  
"Yes. I need your help." Alexander started down the stairs to his daughter.

"We can't get rid of his stuff." Rachel looked down; her tone was low and uneven.

"Baby girl it is what he would have wanted."

"Fine but I have to go to the library in a couple of hours." Rachel mumbled. Her dad nodded and went back upstairs.

She wasn't ready to face her daddy's things. She knew that she needed closure, but she wasn't ready to let go of his memory yet. She wondered why her dad was so quick to get the things out of the house. She had guessed that it was too painful for him to sleep surrounded by things owned by the one he loved.

Rachel went through the motions of folding shirts and then butting them into boxes over and over for an hour. She then carried the heavy boxes downstairs. The pile of boxes continued to grow making the Berry living room resemble a cardboard jungle.

Alexander had called it quits after another thirty minutes of shirt folding repetition. Both Alexander and Rachel were viably exhausted.

"I'm going to rest for a bit baby girl. Why don't you head to the library? Dinner is at 7."  
Rachel nodded then grabbed her bag to keep the white lie she was telling her dad from falling apart. Maybe she would go to the library, she wasn't sure if Finn was actually going to show up.

Rachel had quickly covered the 30 or so blocks between her house and the park. She was nervous, but it wasn't unusual. She was always nervous when it came to Finn.

The image of Finn gave her butterflies. When he touched her the butterfly feeling intensifies. She loved him, probably always will. She knew she couldn't be his girlfriend. Quinn had that position covered being head Cherrio to his Quarterback. It was what the 'herd' expected.

Rachel went through the center of the park and stopped at a line of trees. It was pretty much a miniature forest. Inside was a clearing she and Finn had found one day and have used it as a meeting place. She pushed through the tree branches that hid the clearing from prying eyes.

When she finally got to the clearing she found Finn sitting on one of the many logs they had moved there.

"Hi Finn." He looked up at her and smiled.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to meet me." Rachel sat on the log directly across from him as he spoke.

"Dad and I were boxing some of Daddy's things."

"Oh." Finn paused and reached for Rachel's hand. "I'm sorry. I know you were close to him."

"Finn, I really don't want to talk about this right now. Please." Finn ran his thumb over the top of her hand.

"Okay. What do you want to talk about?"  
Rachel was silent for a few moments. She thought about telling Finn about what the normally rude Noah Puckerman did today but knew Puck would never admit that he helped a gleek.

"Let's talk about why you wanted to meet me."  
"I was worried. You weren't in class and I kind of freaked out." Rachel smiled at that. She like that Finn cared about her.

"I couldn't handle everyone staring at me. It was too much." Finn reached out to grab Rachel's other hand.

"I wish I could be there for you Rach. You know I would-"  
"I know Finn." Rachel quickly cut him off. "But you can't. I understand. You can't risk your status, or Quinn." Rachel stopped there, not wanting to dwell on the reasons why they couldn't be friends publically.

"I'm sorry Rachel." Finn whispered, his voice was full of heavy sadness.

"Don't worry about it. Honestly, it's fine." Rachel took her hands from the boy she was desperately in love with and folded them in her lap.

"Rach, please don't be like this." Finn pleaded.

"Like what?"  
"Like you don't care. That kiss two weeks ago, it meant something. I know you felt it too. I like you."  
"Let's just drop this, I need to get home."  
"Meet me here tomorrow." Finn tried to ask, but it came out as a demand. "Please." He added as an afterthought. Rachel couldn't say no.

"Okay. Right after your practice." Finn smiled.

"See you then." Rachel nodded.

She let Finn leave before her, knowing it would be bad if anyone were to see her with him. She wanted to stay in the growing darkness that engulfed the trees. It was calm and relaxing. She could sit there and forget everything that wasn't with her among the branches.

She was late to dinner. Her dad was frantic and angry.

"Where were you? Certainly not the library. I went to get you because you left your phone."  
"I went to the park. I needed to breate." Alexander's face softened just a bit.

"Next time just let me know. Come to the kitchen, your dinner is getting cold."

Rachel was unsure about Finn. He said he liked her, but he still wouldn't risk anything to be her friend. That troubled her.

Finn had everything to lose and absolutely nothing to gain by being friends with the gleek. She decided that she was going to ask him what the deal was. She took a deep breath and shoved Finn from her mind; fully concentrating on the vegetarian spaghetti in front of her.

The next day was just as bad as the first. Eyes watched her like she was part of a sideshow. She was tempted to skip half the day, but decided she wouldn't after she saw Puck leave the building with his sport bag.

Finn watched Rachel everything he could. He felt bad for her, she had no one, not even him. He was only able to be around her after school and even then they had to hide in trees. He really did like her and it hurt him to watch her suffer.

He wished he could be with her, be her friend without ruining who he was and what he had with Quinn.

Rachel was the one waiting in the clearing this time. Finn was late, but he was never on time.

"Hey Rachel." Finn spoke from behind her. "I can't stay long." Rachel stood up and turned to see his face. "Rachel we need to talk about something."  
"Me first. Why are you here Finn? I don't get it."  
"Believe it or not, I like you."  
"Then talk to me at school."  
"Fine." She paused at his words. She wasn't prepared for this answer. She had only thought about him saying that he wouldn't risk it.

"What?" She whispered.

"I'll talk to you at school."

"Finn, I'm not serious. I don't want you to lose what you have."  
"I will if you want me to." Finn matched her tone from before, the whisper was so soft, yet loud in the silence of the trees.

"No, it's fine" Finn walked up to her and cupped her cheek. He leaned down and kissed her softly.

"If you want me to, text me. I'll see you tomorrow."  
Rachel was stunned so much that she didn't think about waiting a few minutes. She left the clearing right after Finn.

When she emerged from the trees, she immediately turned toward home.

She didn't take notice to the figure that watched as both party's exited the lush green of the trees.

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**I apologize for the wait on this update. Christmas was a lot crazier than I expected. On that note, to everyone that celebrates any holidays this month, I hope you had a great holiday.  
I hope you liked the chapter. Don't hate me for the Rachel/Finn interaction going on. I'm simply setting up Finn's role in the story.  
Thanks for Reading. Please Review.**

**xoxo Mechh**

**ps. I'm sorry if fan fiction isn't sending out alerts, if you'd like I can send out private messages to all of you that have alerts. Let me know.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

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**_

**Thank you to everyone that is reading this story.**_**  
alley83- **__*wink* Hmm...**  
couragetcd- **__I've forgotten to mention that. No, Quinn isn't pregnant. And no, they aren't in glee. There are some scenes taken from Shomance, but this is mostly not canon.**  
liveyourlife317- **__:D me too! It makes for some good intrigue.

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_

Puck had gone for his after practice run. He took his usual route, passing the park where he'd take his little sister Madyson to play on the weekends. He stopped at the front entrance of the park to get a drink of water before he continued.

He had his body turned toward the trees in the back, like he normally did. Everything was normal, except he saw Finn climbing out of the green mass, and jog to his truck.

That certainly was unusual. Finn didn't hide, it wasn't in his nature. He would have sex with Quinn in the middle of a supermarket if he could.

_What was he doing in the trees?_ He asked himself. He didn't have to wait long for his answer when he saw Rachel emerge from almost the exact same spot.

He couldn't believe what his eyes said he was seeing. There was no way Finn and Rachel were hiding in trees together.

He didn't waste another moment thinking about it, it was none of his business to begin with. If Finn wanted to fuck around on Quinn that was his deal, and Puck wasn't going to get involved.

He turned back toward home and ran again. Nothing mattered when he ran, he didn't think anything, and that was what he wanted.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. He didn't understand why because he had always disliked her. But since yesterday under the tree, his thoughts had always found a way back to Rachel.

Despite the fact that he hated that people pitied her, he felt sorry for her. She was convinced that she had killed her 'daddy'. He knew what it felt like to blame yourself for the loss of someone. He always knew that he was the reason his dad left, but now hearing that Rachel felt the same about the death, he realized that sometimes you can't prevent things from happening. You have to let life lead you to where you need to go.

He wasn't quite sure why he had never thought of it that way before.

Puck groaned. He was thinking about her again.

_Damn it. You just feel bad for her. That's it._

Rachel had felt like she was walking on air. Finn was going to risk things for her, he really did like her. The only concern she had was that Quinn was going to make things difficult. Rachel was in no way a boyfriend stealer, but she wanted Finn. He was the only person that really understood what was going on. And if he didn't, he tried.

_What if he doesn't stick to what he says?_ Rachel shook her head, telling herself that Finn was honest and caring.

She stopped when she heard running, the pounding of feet on cement forced her out of her thought process. She turned to see Puck sprinting down the sidewalk. She noticed that he had just started running from in front of...

_The park._

The red flag raised in her head, this was going to be a big problem.

"Puck?" She called. He stopped suddenly.

"Hey Berry." He said, slightly out of breath

"Did you see?" She asked nervously.

"See what? You and Finn?" Rachel dropped her head. "Yeah, I saw. It's none of my business what or who he does when Quinn isn't around." Rachel's head snapped up. Her eyes were wide and her jaw dropped slightly.

"Finn and I aren't... you know... _doing_ anything."

"Of course not. You were just hiding in the trees to talk."

"We were!" She snapped.

"Whatever Berry. Like I said, this is none of my business. Finn can do what he wants. But just know that you aren't be the first girl he _isn't doing anything with._"

"What?"

"Come on. You aren't dumb Berry. You aren't the first girl he tried getting with when him and Quinn aren't getting along."  
"He just wants to be my friend."  
"No, he doesn't. He wants you to think that so he can get your guard down. This is what he does."  
"Why are you telling me this? Why do you even care?" Rachel asked, glaring at Puck. He shrugged.

"You've been hurt enough for a lifetime Rachel. You don't need this." With those words he took off sprinting once again, leaving a dumbstruck Rachel in his path.

Rachel was having an anxiety attack. She had never been used before, especially not for sex. It was definitely a new concept and she didn't like it at all.  
But that wasn't the only thing causing the attack. Puck was the second reason. He was beginning to show her more and more that he had a heart, and it scared her. She never thought that he would be nice to her, let alone protect her from getting hurt. They had never liked each other.

She had asked Finn to meet her by the track, that she needed to talk to him about something important. She had been standing there for ten minutes, and still Finn hadn't shown up."  
"Hey Rachel. You said you needed to talk?" A voice, obviously Finn's, came from her left.

"Are you friends with me so you can sleep with me?" She didn't have the mindset to beat around the bush about this.

"Who told you that?"

"I hear things. But you aren't denying it, so it must be true." Finn shrugged. "You think I'm easy Finn? You honestly thought that I would give it up to you? I'm a virgin."  
"You would have eventually." He said with a smirk.

"That will never happen Finn. Not with you." Finn just shrugged again.

"You think someone else is going to want to get with you? Funny, I don't see anyone running to get to you. There is no line. The reason you are a virgin is because no one has an interest in you." Finn just wouldn't shut up. He noticed the red anger that was forming on Rachel's face. She was shaking with fury. "No one wants you."

Before Rachel could responded, Puck came up to her. "Hey, sorry I took so long. Are you ready to go?" He went and hugged her, and whispered in her ear. "Just go with it."

"Yeah, it's okay. I was just telling Finn that being friends isn't a good idea." Finn stared at the two of them.

"Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Sure, buddy. Rachel and I have been talking lately. We were going to spend some more time getting to know each other." Puck said lazily. Finn glared at him.

"But you don't even like her. No one likes her."  
"That's where you're wrong. We have had similar experiences. We have common ground." Puck motioned to his truck. "Let's go okay?" Rachel nodded.

"Yeah."

Once they were safely out of Finn's sight Rachel let out a breath.

"Thank you."  
"Yeah, he was out of line, talking to you like that."  
"I guess." Silence descended on them after that.  
"I can give you a ride home." Puck said, eager to break the silence.

"I can walk."

"Just let me give you a ride home." He said while guiding her to his truck. He opened the door and let Rachel get inside.

"Thanks."

"I know I'm not the nicest, but no one needs to talk to anyone the way Finn was talking to you."  
"But he is right. No one likes me. No one wants to be friends with me, or be my boyfriend. He is the only one that has showed any interest in me."  
"You are blind Rachel."

Neither of them said anything during the ride home, both were too busy thinking to themselves.

Puck stared intently ahead, trying his hardest to wrap his head around the things that Finn said. Finn wasn't a mean guy, he wasn't smart enough for that. _**Why is he being such an ass to her? Who am I kidding? I did the same thing.**_

He pulled to a stop in front of her house.

"Thanks for the ride." She mumbled before reaching for the door handle.

"I'm sorry."  
"Huh?"

"I'm sorry. For how I treated you all those years." He explained quietly.

"Um, thank you for saying that."

"I am going to stop. I don't even know why I did all those things to you."  
"Because you are an arrogant ass?" He smiled slightly.

"No, not because of that. I think I just did cuz you were the easiest to pick on."  
"Did it make you feel better?"  
"No, it made me feel guilty. I like you Rachel. Honestly. I guess I didn't think that you had feelings."

"What's with you being nice to me all of a sudden?"  
"We talked. I don't know. I kinda want to be friends." It was Rachel's turn to smile.

"Really?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah."

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_**Ch3lsBishop- **__! How did you know?_

**This one is short. I'm sorry. I've had a big block about this chapter. I will rewrite it later on and make it better, but for now I fear this will have to do.**

**Next chapter is going to be good though, I promise.  
Reviews make me happy... *wink***


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary: A tragic loss brings two misfits together despite their complicated past.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.  
I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**_**  
I do own this plot line.**_

**So for now, the block has lifted.  
Thanks for bearing with me.  
Feedback is much appreciated, and loved.**

**

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**

Rachel didn't fully understand what was happening. Puck was being nice to her, and she thought that it was great. _But it can't last forever_. She thought bitterly. It wasn't possible for him to like her in any way, but she couldn't help but hope that he did. After the incident with Finn, Puck had given her rides occasionally, though it had only been two weeks.

Puck had said that he wanted to be friends with her, but so far they had barely spoken at all. He would say hi to her in the hallway and make small talk in his truck, but it never went any further than that. She knew that it was too much to ask from him, he was the badass, and he was significantly higher on the social food chain.

She had made up her mind, no effort would be extended on her part. She wasn't going to try to be his friend. If he truly wanted that, he was fully capable of making the first effort in the friendship process.

Puck thought she was one of the most confusing girls he had ever talked to. Her moods would swing between happiness to sad so fast that he swore it made his head spin. He had told her that he wanted to be friends, but so far all his efforts turned to shit. He tried to make conversation with her, but honestly, what does a jock have in common with a girl like Rachel? She was all rainbows and musicals, and he was dirt and physical aggression on the field.

He truly wanted to be her friend. His problem was that she didn't act like she wanted to make an effort.

She probably didn't.

"Hey Berry." Puck said with a smile as he walked into Glee rehearsal. Behind him came Finn, Quinn, Santana, Brittany, Matt and Mike. All of the original glee members stood in complete shock.

"Guys, meet your fellow glee members."  
"This has got to be a joke Mr. Schue." Rachel stated, a glare possessed her features as she looked over everyone in the group.

"No, no joke Rachel. All of them have chosen to join Glee. They are quite good actually. If you have any doubts I'm sure they wouldn't mind showing you their talents."

"Rachel, don't be rude." Kurt said as he eyed Finn. "We are glad to have you all."

Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Thrilled." Rachel heard Artie mutter under his breath.

"Look kids, we need twelve people to be able to compete. This is the best thing for all of us."

"Well, fine then. We need to find a way to get along." Tina said quietly. Mr. Schue stood quietly in the middle of the room for a long time. His eyes were closed, indicating that he was thinking. Finally he opened his eyes.

"Alright everyone. I have the perfect idea. We are going to partner up for duets. Finn and Tina, Mercedes and Matt, Santana and Kurt, Quinn and Artie, Mike and Brittany, and finally Puck and Rachel."

"Mr. Schue, I don't think our creative outlooks match," Santana spoke defiantly. "Kurt is... Kurt. You can't honestly expect me to sing a duet with him. Puck and I really click musically, can't I just trade with Rachel?" She smiled and winked at Puck. Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina shared a look of disgust and went through the motions of gagging themselves.

"I'm sorry Santana, no one is changing partners. My decision is final." He smiled at the rest of the group. "We'll cut this short so you can get started on your songs. I want you to have them ready by next week." Mr. Schue said before walking out of the room to visit Miss Pillsbury.

Rachel was once again standing near the track. This time she was waiting for Puck to finish up his practice so they could start with theirs. She wasn't happy with the stunt Mr. Schue had pulled with the club.

_It isn't fair to us. _Rachel screamed in her head. Her mind fumed over the current situation. _Why is he taking so long to finish?"_ Rachel growled slightly in annoyance.

"Jeez Berry, you don't have to growl at me." Puck said playfully as he walked up to her.

"You took your time didn't you?"

"Did you want me to sit near you smelling like I had almost killed myself with running?" Rachel scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Yeah, didn't think so."

"Well, okay then. Have you thought about what song we are going to sing?"

"No. I figured that you would discard my idea and go with yours anyway so I didn't bother." Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled out her iPhone. She began to search the web for a suitable duet.

Everything was quiet as she searched. Neither of them wanted to talk, they both knew that if they did they would have to talk about the whole friends thing. Rachel wasn't ready to tell him that it would never work. Puck didn't want to tell her that he knew that he wanted to be her friend but didn't know how to start a friendship.

"What about 'Need You Now'?" He raised his eyebrow at her.

"Just the title makes me want to say no."

"It's a wonderful song." She handed him her phone. "These are the lyrics." His eyes ran over the words, slowly comprehending that Rachel hadn't been joking.

"You want us to sing about being alone and needing someone desperately?"  
"It's a beautiful song Noah." He cringed. "Sorry, I meant Puck. It's a beautiful song _Puck._" He looked over at her and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say Rachel." She looked up at him and smiled. "When do you want to start?"  
"Whenever you can. I've got a great place to practice." He smirked and raised his eyebrow. She looked confused for a second. "Oh, ew Puck. Not that." She shook her head.

"Lighten up." He said with a laugh. "We can start today." He grabbed her bag from the ground and motioned to his truck. "We have to walk to get to the car Rachel." He said slowly, figuring that she just had her head in the clouds.

And boy did she. She had been surprised that Puck would even think about something sexual with her around, or something sexual about them. Together. At the same time.

"Uh, yeah. I know." She trailed behind him, noticing that he walked with such confidence. It was no wonder the girls loved him. He was toned. _Everywhere._

Rachel wasn't aware that Puck had stopped walking until she ran into his back.

"Berry, watch it would you?" Puck warned.

"I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention."  
"Obviously." Puck muttered as he opened the passenger door to his truck so Rachel could get in. "Where is this place you want to practice?" Rachel climbed into the truck and let Puck shut the door when she was seated.

"My garage. It's sort of like a studio. My dads built it shortly after I told them I wanted to be on Broadway."  
"So when you could talk?" Puck said with a smile.

"Yes." Rachel laughed. "No. Actually, I think I was ten."

"Wow. Decided your future kind of young didn't you?" Puck inquired.

"Yeah, but now I think I will do something other than singing. I think that if I were to get onto Broadway, I would only think of Daddy."  
"He wouldn't want you to give up everything you've ever wanted just because he isn't around anymore." Rachel began to worry her bottom lip.

"I don't think I could do it anymore. Daddy was the only one that liked musicals. It was our thing."  
"Don't you want something positive to remember about him?"  
"Yes." Rachel went quiet for a moment. "Well, you are rather insightful for someone that doesn't care." Rachel didn't mean for her comment to sound like a dig, but by the look on Puck's face, he certainly took it that way.

"That was before. We are talking now, and we are sort of friends, right?" He paused and looked at Rachel for her answer. She nodded her head after a few moments. "Well I care about my friends. If you don't stop telling yourself that everything that happened is your fault, and you convince yourself that you can't do what you've always dreamed of, you aren't going to get anywhere. You can't just give up." Puck paused after he realized that his tone had turned angry. "Don't be a coward Rachel. Be what we both know you are."  
"And what exactly is that Noah Puckerman?" Puck smiled.

"A talented singer." Rachel smiled in return.

It was only when the conversation had finished and their eyes connected that Rachel realized that they were parked in front of her house.

"Um, so let's head out back to the garage."

**

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I'm changing up the way I respond to my reviews. I might message, or something else, but I promise that I'm going to respond to EVERY review. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

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Puck followed Rachel to the garage behind her house. It was considerably big on the outside and Puck was almost too sure that the inside was going to be much bigger. After she opened the side door, he found out he was right.

"Holy shit." Puck said with a whistle as he took in the extravagance of the room. The room was divided into two parts by a wall with a window. Much like a traditional recording studio, or what Puck thought one looked like.

One side of the room had microphones, earmuff type head phones, and stands to hold the music stereo. The other looked like the producing area, accompanied simply by a swivel chair.

Puck favored the recording area. It was bigger, and had a place to relax. A red wine couch was set up against the back wall. Two similarly colored chairs were placed next to the couch. To the left of the furniture was a stereo system.

"It's a bit over the top." Rachel said in a bored tone.

"Over the top? You have a professional recording studio behind your house!" Puck exclaimed, still overly excited from his first impression.

"I don't use it."  
"Really? You could do so much in here." Puck continued to marvel at all the things in the room, and the possibilities that would come if he had something like this. "Why don't you use it?" Rachel looked down at her feet and clasped her hands awkwardly.

"I used to. Before the crash." Puck had barely heard her, but her tone told him to chill. He got over the excitement and decided it best to just get this thing over with.

Rachel left Puck at the entrance as she moved to take a seat on the couch, when she sat she motioned for Puck to do the same. He reasoned that he shouldn't sit next to her because it might make her more uncomfortable. Rachel noticed his sudden change in demeanor and sighed.

"Look, you don't have to suddenly get all serious because I haven't been in here. It's alright to love the place, I still do. I just didn't have a reason to be here." Puck hadn't looked at Rachel during her 'fit' but he responded so she knew he was listening.

"Yeah, okay." He didn't want to push the subject, and he knew that when Rachel had her mind set on a certain feeling, she committed to it 100% and to argue was simply a losing battle. "So, are we going to practice?" Rachel smiled and nodded.

"Of course." She said as she lifted her body from the couch. The motion had caught Pucks attention and he couldn't stop watching as she walked over to the stereo system. She began messing with the settings and when she felt satisfied, she plugged her iPhone into the jack.

As Puck watched, he noticed things about her. Like she had killer curves, which she showcased with a skirt that fell to her mid-thigh. She swayed her hips when she walked.

"Puck?" Rachel said shortly, causing Puck to raise his eyes to her face. "Did you hear anything I just said to you?"

"No, sorry. My head was somewhere else." Rachel rolled her eyes, which Puck had seen too many times for it to annoy him.

"Whatever you say. I'm going to play the song now. Since you have a good range I'm confident that you will be able to hit all the notes." Rachel didn't wait for a response, only turned to her iPhone and started the song.

_Picture perfect memories,  
Scattered all around the floor.  
Reaching for the phone cause, I can't fight it anymore._  
**And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.**  
_For me it happens all the time._

**Its a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.  
Said I wouldn't call, but I lost all control and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now.  
**

Another shot of whiskey, cant stop looking at the door.  
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before.  
**And I wonder if I ever cross your mind.**  
For me it happens all the time.

**Its a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk,  
And I need you now.  
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now.  
**Whoa, whoa.

**Yes I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all.  
**_Its a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.  
_And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now.  
**And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now.  
I just need you now.**  
_Oh baby I need you now. _

When the song ended Rachel looked at Puck expectantly.

"Well, what did you think?"  
"I like it. I think it would be a good mix." Rachel beamed.

"I'm glad you feel that way. So, do you want to start the practice now, or did you want to leave?" Rachel wouldn't meet his eyes, making him come to the conclusion that something wasn't right.

"We can practice now, if you tell me what's going on."

"It's nothing. I just..." She trailed off, unsure of how she should proceed.

"If this is about being friends. I'm trying. I just don't know how to be friends with-"  
"A girl like me?"

"Yes and no. You are so different than all the other girls I know."

"How is that?" Rachel asked quietly. She was completely unsure where this was going to go, and if she was honest with herself she didn't really want him to answer.

"I don't know." Puck replied with a tone more quiet than the one Rachel had used.

Puck had kept silent for several moments as he thought to himself. _What is it about her that makes me feel so completely out of character? And why do I keep acting like this? _She had sat down next to him, and he looked at her. Their eyes met, connecting in a way that shot electricity through Rachel's body. She could almost feel his head moving toward her, and she responded with the same action. Though agonizingly slow, they were getting closer. Then his phone beeped to indicate he had received a text. He let out a calming breath as he pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the message. He looked at the screen, and made a face.

"Um, Rachel," Puck started. Rachel had noticed the name on the screen and her stomach plummeted, though she didn't know why.

"You have to go." She supplied an answer for him the second time in ten minutes.

"Yeah, I promised Mady that I would take her to the park today. I completely forgot." He said, shooting a smirk to hide how uneasy he felt inside.

Rachel had to hold in the scoff that formed in her throat. Why he felt the need to lie to her, she would never know. What she did know, however, was the feeling in her stomach, the one that began when she saw Santana's name, was growing.

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_***Song credit  
Need You Now- Lady Antebellum (I do not own!)**_

**So... That's chapter 8 folks. Wow. I can't believe I finished it like that. My fingers have a mind of their own I suppose. Well, the good news is... the block is still gone!**

**For visual purposes, the link to the picture of the set up for the recording area furniture is here ===ht tp: /i 93 8. ph ot ob uc ke t. co m/ al bu ms /a d2 21 /M ec hh As yl um /S cr ee ns ho t- 3. jpg (just remove the spaces.**

**Reviews honestly rock my world!**

**Ps. I would love a beta... so if you are interested, just PM me.**

**Pss. Added the Rating Change note to all chapters posted before the change.  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

**

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**

**Thanks to my beta Thayet-Victoria.  
**

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Puck stood up instantly, creating space between himself and Rachel.

"So... I'll talk to you tomorrow and we can set up a time to practice?" Puck was desperate to make pleasant conversation, anything to rid the air of the tension that hung around them like dense fog. Puck, being the guy that he was, didn't understand what had caused Rachel to flush pink and radiate the tension he could feel. There had been no hesitation on his part, no way for her to tell he was lying, he was sure of it.

"Yes, well, I assume you can find your way out?" Rachel snapped. Puck let out a sound of pure irritation. He hated the bossy control freak that Rachel could transform into. Puck nodded then pushed his way past her to make his exit. "Have fun with Santana." She said icily, her words literally freezing him in place. "Oh, did I say Santana? I meant Madyson. Have fun with Madyson."

She almost smirked at her own words, feeling awfully clever. His jaw clenched visibly several times. He was still for several seconds before he set his face into a scowl and turned on his heel.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Puck all but growled. With that he continued on his way out the side door and back to the truck that waited in the driveway.

Rachel found herself left standing in her garage, completely astonished and oddly dumbstruck. However, her astonishment was not from Puck's behavior, but her own. She felt bad for purposely trying to jeopardize her friendship with the new glee member, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to be friends with the guy that could lie to her with such ease. She was finding herself more attracted to the 'nice guy' side of Noah Puckerman,the one that hardly anyone sees.

She knew it was uncalled for to act the way she did, and knew it was certainly beneath her, but she couldn't get rid of the feeling in the pit of her stomach.

_Was that jealousy? _ She wondered silently, not daring to speak out loud the things her mind thought absurd. _No, you can't be jealous of Santana. You don't like Puck. _Her thought pattern made perfect sense to her, and she was inclined to agree, or so she tried to tell the other side of her mind.

**Of course you like him. He is, wow, to say the least. **One side of her head argued. _He is a jackass, you said so yourself. That should tell you that you don't like him. _**Oh stop! You like him. He is sweet to you, he stood up for you when Finn was saying all those nasty things to you. **_But he lied! Straight to your face! And who says he doesn't say the same sort of things behind your back?_

"That's enough!" Rachel shouted, completely confused by the conversation inside her head.

"Enough of what Rachel?" A soft voice from behind her asked. Rachel turned to see Finn in the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel demanded, obviously annoyed by the unannounced visit.

"I wanted to apologize for what happened the other day. It was completely out of line." Finn offered her a smile.

"Well, I'm not sure I forgive you Finn. You said some pretty mean things." Finn approached her, and she responded by backing away. He stopped at her actions.

"I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe it was the rejection. I really like you Rachel. I liked having you as my friend."  
"I'm not going to sleep with you." Rachel said sternly.

"I know. That isn't why I'm here. I want my friend back." Finn smiled again, this time showing his teeth, trying for the smile to be as sincere as it could be. Rachel couldn't help but smile back.

"Fine, but I'm warning you. No funny business." Finn instantly nodded.

"I promise." He boldly took another step toward her, moving more when she didn't move back. "Friends?" He asked, opening his arms for a hug.

"Yeah, friends." Rachel said hesitantly. She stepped forward and let herself be pulled into a hug.

Behind them, he watched; angry now. He didn't want to watch them hug, because this time he did care if Finn fooled around, especially if it was with her. He stomped forward, not bothering to hide his presence. Rachel heard him, and quickly escaped Finn's arms.

"Puck, what are you doing here? I thought you were meeting up with Madyson." Rachel said quietly, the implications were heavy in her voice, but only Puck was able to pick up the reason.

"I forgot my bag." He said while pointing to the couch. Rachel turned as if to confirm that he was telling the truth, after all, she felt like she couldn't believe anything he said.

"Why is your bag here Puck?" Finn chimed in, feeling left out of the interaction.

"Like it's your business Hudson." Puck spat. "But if you must know, and I'm sure you're dying for this, we were going to practice the duet thing." Finn looked at Rachel.

"Yes, but Puck had to cancel. He remembered that he promised his little sister a day with him." Puck wasn't sure why she was lying to Finn, there was no reason to. It didn't matter if Finn knew that he was hooking up with Santana.

Puck walked around the two and walked over to the couch. He gently lifted his bag, shouldered it, and turned to leave.

"Berry, can I talk to you?" Puck said nearly too quiet. Rachel nodded almost too soon.

"Um yes. Finn excuse us for a second." She beamed at the stocky jock, making sure she had put him at ease.

Rachel motion for Puck to use another door he hadn't noticed. It went into what looked like a room.

"What do you want Puck. Shouldn't you be horizontal with Santana?"

"I'm sorry?" Puck asked with an incredulous tone  
"Why did you think you had to make up some story about your sister? Why not just tell me that you were going to screw the pretty Cheerio?"

She was shaking, from anger or jealousy; possibly serious combination of both of them.

"I'm waiting Puckerman."

Puck looked at Rachel's face.

"Did you not see or feel what was going on before I got that text?" Puck said, using a light tone. He didn't want Finn to hear what he was saying, or even how he was speaking to Rachel.

"No." Rachel said promptly.

"Liar," He accused, his eyes flashing.

"Fine, yes." She confessed. "However, that doesn't matter anymore."

"Why not?" Puck asked. It was so unlike him to question everything. But then again, he noticed that several things were _unlike _him whenever she was near.

"Because you are a lying jerk Noah Puckerman. Not to mention that we don't like each other."

"I never said I didn't like you."  
"But you certainly acted like it." She contradicted. "You don't need to speak to express how you feel about someone."

She had no idea that she had just told him that actions speak louder than words, and he took it literally. He walked toward her with purpose. He stopped just short of colliding with her body. She could feel his breath on her face, it was hot and smelled of spearmint and what she thought might be chocolate. She swallowed a bit, trying to hide the dazed expression she had a feeling she was showing.

He brought his head closer, lips only centimetres from hers. He was breathing deeply, not bothering to control it.

Suddenly his lips were against hers. The kiss was light, a simple brush. That was all it was, because Rachel yanked her body away from his.

"Puck," She whispered. She blinked several times to make sure she wasn't imagining what had just happened.

"Forget it." He said angrily. "No one finds out about that." He added before he stalked out of the room.

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	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

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**_

**Thanks to my beta Thayet-Victoria.**

**I apologize for the wait on this... I've been dealing with some family stuff that makes writing this really difficult.**

**This chapter isn't as long as the next few will be, as per request.  
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Rachel lifted her hand to her mouth, running her index finger over her lips. She was amazed at the feeling that lingered upon them. Puck had kissed her. But she pulled away.

It wasn't that she didn't want to kiss him, well maybe it was, but she didn't pull away to reject him. The action was something that she hadn't expected from him. Especially since he had left the studio so he could be with Santana.

_But he had come back. For what? To kiss her? Or maybe it was because he watched Finn pull up and he didn't want Finn to insult her again. But why would he do that?_

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. She honestly didn't know how to handle this sort of thing. She had only kissed two other guys before Puck, but the energy she felt with Puck was different. She was terrified of what that might mean.

She was going to spend more time thinking about what Puck had just done, but she suddenly remembered that Finn was still waiting in the other room for her. She took a few breaths before deciding that she should return to her guest.

"Sorry about that Finn." She said with a smile after she saw him looking at her with confused eyes.

"What was that all about?"  
"Nothing, it's just Puck had forgotten to get the lyrics and music for our duet. You know him, always thinking he is on top of everything." She hadn't realized the double meaning until Finn laughed loudly.

"Well, I've heard he is on top of a lot of things." Finn said, still laughing. Rachel shot a glare at him which shut him up immediately. "Sorry." He muttered though he wasn't sorry at all. He didn't want to get on Rachel's bad side, after all. He did have his goals, and he wasn't going to mess it up this time.

"You should go." Rachel said suddenly.

"Why? I just got here, and we were just talking about us being friends again."  
"I know. But my dad is going to be home soon. I was only given permission to have Puck over for practice." She said, lying through her teeth. She was worried about how easy it was to lie to Finn. It must be a side effect of hanging around Puck, he was a bad influence.

_At least he doesn't want you for sex._ The voice inside Rachel's head said. _Finn just wants to get in your pants. Puck knows that he doesn't have to con you into sleeping with him_. Had her mind really just said that? She didn't even like Puck, there is no way she would even consider that. Right?

She was second guessing herself and she hated it. It wasn't like her to not be confident. Puck made her feel like she wasn't in control of what happened in her life. She'd be damned if she wasn't. _But didn't him kissing her make him the one in control?_ She wondered.

"Ughh!" She let out audibly. She had forgotten that Finn was still standing in front of her. He was looking at her like she needed to be committed to an asylum. "Sorry. I'm just a bit irritated. I forgot to set up a time to practice with Puck."  
"Yeah, he needs the practice." Finn said under his breath. "I'll get going." Finn turned around and saw that Puck was still in the driveway. He was beating the shit out of something in his truck. "Well it looks like you don't have to worry. Puck is still in your driveway, so you can talk to him about the practice." Finn smiled. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." He leaned down and kissed her cheek then walked away before she could say anything to him.

She waited until Finn had pulled out of the driveway before she went over to Puck's truck. She hesitantly knocked on the window.

"Hey." He said in response.

"I wanted to," she started. He held his hand up top stop her from talking.

"Don't. Don't say anything okay? I don't know what I was thinking kissing you, it was stupid."  
"That isn't what I was talking about." He gave her a look. "Okay, yes it was. I didn't pull away to stop you." She said quietly. That surprised him.

"Then why?"

"You startled me is all. I wasn't expecting you to kiss me."

"It was a bad idea."  
"Why?" She said, clearly offended.

"Well, I'm sort of dating someone." He admitted with a slight shrug of his right shoulder.

"You used me to cheat on Santana?" She yelled, not even trying to be quiet.

"I didn't plan it!" He yelled back.

"Was that your intention this whole time? Just like Finn."

"Don't compare me to that dick." He said, setting his face into a mask of anger.

"Oh, that would be bad, considering that he is better than you!"  
"Are you kidding me?" His voice rising. He opened the door to his truck and got out so he was standing in front of her.  
"No! I'm not. Because he is better than you. At nearly everything. Singing, talking, kissing." She used her fingers to count the reasons.

"He is not better." He yelled. "He lies, I _**lied**_. He cheats, I _**cheated**_." He finally realized what she said last. "_And he is _not_ a better kisser."_ He growled. He captured her lips for the second time. This time it wasn't just a simple brush, this kiss was hard and unforgiving. There was a determination behind it, he was going to prove that he was better than Finn. He bit her lip, causing her to gasp and open her mouth. He took that opportunity to explore her mouth with his tongue. Caressing hers in a way that made her knees weak.

She didn't think insulting him would lead to this, but damn if he wasn't proving that he was a better kisser. After a few seconds more of kissing he pulled away. Leaving her mouth and body desperate for more.  
"You win." She said breathlessly. "You are a way better kisser than Finn." He was breathing hard, but had settled a smirk on his lips.

He didn't say anything, just kept smirking at her. He had won, and that was all that mattered to him. He didn't even care that he had just cheated on Santana again, the thought hadn't even occurred to him. He had a feeling that it wasn't going to stop, that he would have to kiss Rachel again. And again.

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this. It's going to be back and forth with Rachel and Puck. I'm sorry if that isn't what people want, but it's the only way for me to continue.**

**Keep an eye out for some new stories coming out.**

**Reviews make an authors life!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.**_

**This was originally Chapter 11 but I remembered being asked by**** 0dot-dot-dot0**** to make the chapters longer so I added what I had for Chapter 12.

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They just stood there. Staring at each other.

To Puck it was very uncomfortable. It wasn't because they were staring, but because Rachel wasn't saying _anything._

"You're kind of freaking me out, Berry." Puck said quietly, successfully taking Rachel's eyes from the ground to his eyes, his beautiful eyes.

"I'm sorry." She replied, not caring how stupid it was to apologize for not speaking.

"No, it's nice." Puck was being quieter than usual. He couldn't bring himself to be, well _himself_. At least, not so soon after kissing Rachel for the second time. He thought it great because the girl could kiss.

He raised his hand from her shoulder, to rest on her neck. She smiled and leaned into the contact.

This felt nice. It felt right, as if she wasn't supposed to be touched by anyone other than the person that stood before her.

But thinking of that led to Rachel thinking of Santana, the girl that Puck was currently... doing, because Rachel couldn't bring herself to think of any words that could be worse.

"Santana," Rachel said softly, and pulled away. This earned a freaked out look from Puck.

"Where?" He asked, the freak out in his eyes was perfectly reflected in his voice.

"She isn't here Noah. You cheated." She spoke, her voice still soft. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, and she was trying so hard to control her heart rate as it was now racing just as fast as her mind.

"No. I didn't." Puck said defiantly.

"Um, yeah, you did. I was the recipient of your actions." Rachel said matter-of-factly.

"No, I didn't." Puck said, his voice was still defiant but had gained a gruff edge.

"I am quite sure that you did." Rachel replied, her eyebrows raised and her hands now upon her hips.

"Nope, it's not cheating. Considering who it was with." Rachel dropped her hands out of pure shock because she couldn't believe what he had just said. He shut his eyes and let out a breath. "That isn't what I meant."

"You need to go." Rachel hissed. Puck looked into her eyes as though he didn't understand what she had just said. "Leave!" She yelled.

"I-" Puck started, going to apologize, and then he seemed to remember that this was Rachel. Rachel didn't need to be apologized to, not for what was going on. Apologizing would do him no good.

He had royally fucked up. He looked up at her again and saw the tears.

"Be here immediately after school tomorrow. So we can work on the areas that you fail to compare to Finn in." Rachel bit out bitterly. Puck's eyes widened.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're going to insult me again?"  
"Well, you insulted me. Isn't it a high school thing to insult back?" She had to admit, hanging around Puck had helped her in becoming more assertive. Puck shook his head.

"Unbelievable." He mumbled as he turned around and got back in his truck. He slammed the door shut causing Rachel to jump. He started his truck and backed out fast. He barely gave it time to adjust before he turned the steering wheel hard, made the tires squeal, and peeled out of her neighborhood.

Rachel let out an irritated growl and stomped into her house, slamming the front door exactly the same way Puck had with his truck.

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This was ridiculous. How was Rachel offended by what he had said? She didn't count with Santana. True, it would if Santana ever found out about it, but that wouldn't happen. He could just imagine that Rachel was fuming in her room right about now.

He didn't think he deserved to be compared to Finn. Of course, Finn didn't compare on so many levels, but still. Comparing him to Finn was the kind of insult that hit deep.

Everyone always thought that Finn was better just because he wasn't a fuck up. But Puck thought that Finn was simply good at acting stupid, and that is what gave him the illusion that he was a good guy.

Puck knew better. Puck was nothing like Finn Hudson, and he prided himself on that fact. He didn't treat girls the way that Finn does, and he doesn't fool around on his girlfriend.

_Except that is what I just did. I insulted her just like Finn did, and I cheated on Santana. _Puck slammed on his breaks, causing the cars behind him to honk. _Shit. I _am_ like the bastard._

He thought about going back to Rachel and apologizing anyway. If she could forgive Finn for saying that she wasn't good enough for anyone then she should be able to forgive him. Right?

He exhaled slow and deep, that was not a resolution he wanted on his conscience right now. He pushed it from his mind and drove to his _**girlfriends'**_ house.

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Rachel hadn't expected Puck to call her out and tell her that she didn't mean anything. That she was nothing. She couldn't believe that he could go from kissing her to telling her that she was invisible. To her, that was so much worse than Finn telling her no one wanted her. Finn said that because he was mad that Rachel rejected him. Puck was saying it because he actually thought it was true.

_How could you be so stupid?_ She cried. She was sitting on her bed, smack dab in the middle, hugging her legs to her chest, begging herself not to shed tears. _You knew that Puck does things like this. He could never like you; he just wanted to make you think that he did. You are just going to be the subject of yet another of his jokes. Way to go._  
She was crying, yes, but she was angry. She thought for sure that she was angrier than she ever felt before. It was anger at Puck for convincing her that someone could care, and it was anger at herself for falling for his actions hook line and sinker.

She stood up and took several breaths to pull herself together, but that failed. She was still angry. She growled and started to throw stuff from her bed onto the floor. She was desperate to get rid of the pent up aggression.  
However, the only thing she succeeded in was destroying her room, which she had to clean before Dad got home.

"Dad, please! Just one day off, that is all I need. I just-"  
"Which boy upset you?" Alexander knew his daughter, and she only wanted to stay away from school when that Noah Puckerman character said something. Usually what he had to say to her was incredibly mean. "Don't make me regret letting you have that Noah Puckerman boy over."  
"I have no choice. It's for glee. And besides, it wasn't just," she hesitated before she spat out the name that burned like acid on her tongue. "Noah."

"Finn as well then?" Alexander assumed.

"Maybe." She said, her head bent to toward the floor, her eyes downcast even further.

"Fine. You may stay home," He gave in to the sadness that was seeping from his daughter. "But only this once. Noah is allowed over for practice. One hour, two tops. Then he is out of here." Rachel nodded and hugged her father tightly.

"Thank you for understanding." She whispered.

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Puck showed up at her house as he had been instructed. He didn't want to piss her off more.

He noticed that she hadn't shown up for school, and that unnerved him slightly. It couldn't have been the fight they had, it was nowhere near epic enough for Miss Perfect Attendance, save for the days following her 'Daddy's' death, to miss classes.

He knocked on the front door, standing like a complete idiot for five minutes. He was getting pretty tired of her being petty.

He was fed up with waiting so he tried his luck with the garage studio. He walked in calling out her name in an effort to find her. He didn't need to look much further than the couch.

Rachel was laying there, eyes closed, hair a complete mess. Puck couldn't help but notice that she was wearing jean things that cut of around her calves. He thought she looked beautiful as she lay there. Sleeping, unknowing that someone was now watching. Now he felt like a creep.

He turned to leave when he heard her whimper. He looked at her in time to see her thrash around violently. The action startled him, and he instantly comprehended that she was having a nightmare. He could now see the tears that streamed from her closed eyes, and instantly he knew what she was seeing.

She was reliving her Daddy's death.

She coughed now, as if the smoke was snaking its way down her throat again. Like it was constricting her like it did the first time.

Puck knew what was going to happen next. He decided he needed to wake her up, so he made his way to the couch.

Sitting down, he placed he hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

"Berry, wake up." He all but commanded. He was trying to keep his voice as gentle as he was shaking her awake, because if it did wake her, he didn't want to scare her. "Come on Rachel. Wake up."

He shook her shoulders harder, attempting the approach he would use on his mother or sister.

Rachel gasped and her eyes flew open. It felt like breathing again after being underwater for too long. She saw that Puck that was sitting next to her, shaking her awake, but that didn't seem to matter. She launched her body into his and she cried.

He held on to her because he knew that she needed something stable. He rubbed her back, comforting her just like he would a child.

She tried to stop crying, but she couldn't. She had never fallen that hard into the memory turned nightmare. She had never felt it like the day it happened. It petrified her.

"Shhh." Puck comforted. "You're okay."

"I had to see it all over again Noah." She choked, voice thick with the tears.

"I know, I'm sorry." He still held onto her, almost rocking her. He felt stupid for it, but if this is what Rachel needed, he was willing to do it. Especially right now.

She continued to cry. Twenty minutes or so passed before the cries had calmed into quiet sobs and heavy breaths.

"Noah," Rachel whispered. If he admitted to himself, but he won't, he actually liked how it sounded when she called him Noah. "You can let go of me now." He didn't want to let her go, but it was only because she still needed comfort, not because he felt like she belonged there.

"Of course." He dropped his arms from her tiny frame reluctantly. "Sorry." She pulled away, and while her eyes were a bit red, and her face was wet from the tears, she was beautiful. He lifted his hand to wipe the tears that were still escaping. It was probably the most affectionate thing he had ever done, so he stopped.

Rachel, after feeling his hand drop, had realized that she was way too close to his body than she needed to be but she didn't want to move.

All was quiet as they sat unmoving on the couch. There was nothing to say, nothing that needed to be expressed. They both appreciated the silence.

Puck found that he rather liked Rachel's quiet moments; it took away from the fact that she was extremely annoying.

"Can I ask why you are here?" Rachel asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Practice, remember?" Rachel looked confused.

"Oh, right. I forgot." Puck touched her hand.

"We don't have to practice. At least not yet." Puck said his voice quiet. Rachel noticed that when he was being all 'sensitive' and 'caring' he got quieter as though he didn't want anyone to hear or see what was going on.

"No, it's fine. I'm fine." She insisted. She stood up and took the few steps to the stereo system. Her iPod was still connected to the jack so all she had to do was press play. Ironically, it was still on the song. She didn't touch it after he had left. She wasn't in the mood for music then, and the thought of it still made her feel sick.

She associated it with death, and other ill feelings. Loneliness, rejection; everything she had felt in the last few weeks.

Rachel had yet to turn around, and Puck was starting to feel like something was really wrong with her. She was never this quiet. Usually she would call him out for whatever he was doing, but today she didn't seem like it bothered her. She obviously had other things on her mind. He thought that he could probably strip all his clothes off and she wouldn't notice.

"Rachel, something is wrong again." Puck voiced.

"Great observation skills there, Sherlock." Rachel said, her tone dripped with sarcasm. Puck didn't say anything, but her being sarcastic like that, hot. For some reason, he really wanted her to curse now.

It was just like him to think of sexual things when a girl was near breaking down, Rachel had great observation skills as well, and she certainly didn't miss the look he gave her after her last remark.

"Let's just get this over with." She was showing no effort in being nice to him. After all he had done for her when she was crying, waking her up to keep her from seeing that horrible day completely, didn't he at least deserve a thank you?

"You're welcome by the way."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel had scrunched her eyebrows together.

"Never mind. Let's just get this over with." He mocked.

"Why? Do you have somewhere to be? Like inside Santana perhaps?" Puck may have thought her being a bit mean was hot, and it could be downright sexy, but she just crossed a line.

"What the fuck Berry? First, you are crying into my shirt, and now you are being a bitch about my girlfriend. You have got to be crazy bi-polar or some shit." Puck said through gritted teeth. He was getting himself ready for that epic fight they didn't have yesterday.

"Actually, bi-polar people don't have mood swings minute to minute. It can take weeks; months even, to get out of one swing." Rachel said in a 'I'm smarter than you' tone.

"It's just like you to throw all that shit in my face. I just called you CRAZY and all you can do is tell me some fact that I don't give a damn about."

"Well I wouldn't have to if you paid attention to anything other than sex!" She yelled.

"I pay attention to things other than sex."  
"Then tell me, what is Santana's favorite flower?"

"Lily." He said without missing a beat.

"What is her middle name?" Rachel received silence. "Exactly, you only know the things that will help you get laid. Congratulations, I think you just tipped the scale on being an ass hole."

"At least I get laid." Puck said, then immediately regretted even opening his mouth to begin with. He had expected her to cry or yell, but no. She slapped him so hard across the face that his vision blurred. "_Fuck!_"

Rachel just stood in front of him, eyes wide like she had no idea how she just hit him.

"I'm sorry! I don't know where that came from." He rolled his eyes.

"Let's call it getting even for the daily slushie attacks." Rachel smiled a bit.

* * *

**It took me a while to get this chapter from okay to 'post-worthy'**

**The first draft ending definitely contained much more anger and angst than I had planned, so I think I am rather happy with this.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

* * *

**_

"Would you pay attention to the lyrics?" Rachel said after she paused the music for the millionth time. Sure, she may have exaggerated the number just a bit, but this was ridiculous. He kept texting. It was driving her insane.  
"I am paying attention." He mumbled as he quickly typed something and hit send. Two seconds later, Rachel's phone went off. Again.

"Honestly, Noah. Do you have to text me when you are sitting three feet away?"  
"I'll quit when you reply." He crossed his arms.

"Is this necessary? We only have twenty minutes before you have to leave."  
"Yes, Berry, this is necessary." Rachel let out an exasperated sigh and retrieved her phone from the couch. She clicked the button and read the texts.

*I don't want to practice anymore.*

*I like your choice in underwear today. Red is sexy.*

"You're deplorable!" She said, also texting it to him for emphasis.

"Thank you." He smiled.

"It certainly wasn't a compliment, Noah. Can we at least run the song once?" Puck rolled his eyes

"Whatever." She smiled at his response and restarted the song.

They weren't even halfway through the song when Pucks phone started to ring.

"Shit. Rachel, I have to go." He gathered his bag and keys from near the door.

"Say hello to Santana from me." She whispered.

"Do you always have to say something like that?" He asked as he put his stuff back down and faced her.

"I was simply being polite." Rachel responded without a blink.

"No, actually the name for what you are doing is bitch. You're being a bitch about me being with Santana and kissing you."  
"Well, I believe I have that right."

"Just let it go! I'm sorry I kissed you."  
"That isn't the thing that bothers me. Okay, it does bother me, but it isn't the reason why I'm being a 'bitch.' She made air quotes while she spoke.

"Well, why don't you share your fucking thoughts with the rest of the class?" Rachel almost smiled at his stupid remark.

"We are going to fail the assignment from glee."

"It isn't a pass fail class, Berry. Besides, no one really cares if I sing. All they care about is you. You're the star. Don't you get sick of that shit?" Rachel just looked at him. Suddenly, a timer went off.

"Time's up. Goodbye Noah." She said before she turned around and pretended he had already left.

Puck shook his head, grabbed his things and then left the room.

* * *

Rachel sat on the couch feeling as though her mind was moving too fast. It wasn't that she was thinking about a bunch of things, it was that all she could think about was Puck. _Did I over step my boundaries? Am I pushing this whole 'being friends' thing too far?_

She wasn't exactly sure. She didn't want to make him not like her. She just couldn't help making comments about Santana. It wasn't like she was being mean to someone that didn't deserve it, because Santana did deserve it.

* * *

Puck sat in his truck outside Rachel's house. He hated that Santana had bad timing. Just when things with Rachel were remotely okay, Santana sent a text.

He knew that Santana was purposely trying to get them at each other's throats, and most of the time it worked.

All Puck really knew was that Santana was starting to get on his fucking nerves. He was allowed to have friends. Santana kept dictating who he was able to be around and he was sick of it. He should be able to hang out with whomever he wanted, especially if that person was Rachel.

He liked Rachel. He liked her because he could just sit next to her, not say a word, and it was okay. He liked her because despite all the shit he had done to her in the past, she still believed that he had potential. She didn't think he was a Lima Loser.

He wanted people to see him like Rachel did. Sure, he was a total badass, and he liked that people knew that and acted accordingly; but he wanted them to know he wasn't always an asshole.

He liked to think that sometimes he was still Noah. That sometimes he could associate with the gleeks and not feel like he is ruining his place on the social pyramid. Though, there were still times when he felt like he had no choice but be a jerk. People expected it from him.

But he didn't really feel like being 'Puck' anymore. He wanted to be Noah, at least part of the time.

He would never admit it, but thinking about wanting Rachel to be the one that called him Noah was the reason he decided right then that things between him and Santana were over. He couldn't pretend to like her just to get laid. _What?_ Puck put a hand on his forehead. _When did this become about actually liking the person I'm hooking up with?_

He finally pulled out of the driveway. He was determined to go to Santana's and end things because it needed to happen. They didn't care about each other. _Fuck, I'm turning into a girl._

Santana wasn't happy. She was very, very angry. Angrier than Puck had anticipated.

"Really, Puck? We're over?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure about that?" She looked at him like she always did when they broke up. Puck set his jaw and nodded. She ran her fingers down his chest.

"Santana, I'm serious." He said as he took a step back.

"So am I. You know you can't just give this up. You'll be back." She smiled and shut the door in his face.

He thought that it could have gone better, but he was pretty happy with the way it all panned out. Now he didn't have to feel guilty about kissing Rachel. Now he could kiss Rachel. He smiled the entire drive back to his house.

* * *

Rachel was just about to head to bed when her phone went off. She reached for her phone and glanced at the screen.

*What are you wearing?*

-Noah!-

*Lol. I was only kidding.*

*I need to know when we are going to practice next.*

Rachel smiled. _He is finally taking this serious._

-Is tomorrow evening okay? Or do you have plans with Santana?-

*Nope, that's fine.*

-See you tomorrow then. Good night Noah.-

*Nite.*

Rachel smiled again as she put her phone back on the charger.

She hadn't been sleeping. Not since the day she had that vivid nightmare. She was terrified to sleep. She didn't want to relive the dark twisting pain that formed in her stomach every time the plane goes down.

The fear chilled her to the bone, sending her entire body into a coldness that she was desperate to get away from.

She thought that by now she would have someone that would want to keep her from having these kinds of dreams. Someone that wanted to be with her regardless. She didn't want sex, not really. All of the teenagers around Lima were hooking up and Rachel never wanted to be part of that.

The only guys that had shown have an interest were either playing with her or cheating on his girlfriend. It didn't really hurt her that no guys were interested in her. She had her dreams to work toward and she couldn't let something so trivial to slow her down. But if she was even halfway honest, she wanted a boyfriend.

She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about a certain boy, and she smiled. She really liked Puck, especially when he showed her that he could be a decent guy. She thought back to the time he woke her from a night terror and held her until she calmed down. It was that kind of thing that made Rachel fall for him.

The following day was easily described as hell. Santana was in a really bad mood and was keen to take it out on Rachel. The insults were tossed at her relentlessly, and they hurt.

Puck didn't send her more than a glance all day. Not even when one of the hockey players slushied her, as per Santana's request.

Rachel gasped at the cold. She wiped the cold flavored beverage out of her eyes and looked at the hockey player. The guy was at least three times bigger than Rachel, and twice as big as Puck.

"Is the gleek going to cry?" The hockey player, Daniel Sampson, taunted her.

"Is the big dumb jock going to leave me alone if I do?" Daniel's jaw dropped.

"What did you just say?"  
"I asked if the big dumb jock, that's you, would leave me alone if I cried."  
"But, he just slushied you!" Another jock from the crowd yelled.

"Yes, I know. Ha ha ha." She said sarcastically before collecting her things and heading to the bathroom.

By the time lunch rolled around, the entire school buzzed with gossip over what Rachel had done. Her fellow gleeks were proud that she stood up for herself, and by doing that, she was also standing up for them. The jocks and Cherrios just glared at her, mostly astonished by her sudden courage.

"What made you talk back to them?" Artie asked after he swallowed a bite of his deli sub.

"It was getting annoying. They slushie me every day and I'm tired of having to do double laundry." Mercedes laughed.

"So true girl." She held out her fist, which Rachel then 'bumped'.

Puck watched her smile with the other glee kids. She had done something no one thought she would do, and Puck was impressed. No, he was more than impressed because assertive Rachel was sexy. He thought about texting her and telling her exactly that, but he thought it would be better if he saw her reaction.

* * *

Rachel was longing for the bell to ring. She was exhausted and she just wanted to go home. She wasn't going to sleep of course, but she was going to sing. It was the next best thing.

Two grueling hours later, the final bell rang. She collected her belongings and made her way to the main hall where people still stared at her. She clutched her books to her chest in an effort to feel more comfortable. She wasn't used to attention unless they were laughing at her. She hurried to her car and left the parking lot as fast as the traffic would allow.

When she got back to her house she texted Puck.

-I'll be in the studio, so meet me here.-

* * *

Puck was with Finn, Joshua, Dominic, and Roger in the locker room when his phone went off. The jocks were all grilling Puck on why he ended things with Santana.

"She has a hot body." Roger said.  
"Not to mention, she knows what she is doing." Joshua added.

"That is exactly my point. She's a whore." Puck replied.

"So are you." Dominic quipped.

"I got bored." Puck said with a shrug. He pulled out his phone and read the text. He stood up. "Duty calls, I'm out."

"And you think Santana is a whore?" Joshua laughed. "Who is the MILF of the night?" Puck just forced a smile and left.

When he got to Rachel's, he noticed how quiet it was. He went around the side of the house to the studio. He knew where she was before he even opened the door. She was curled up on the couch, shivering.

Puck sat next to her like he did the first time. This time he gently lifted her tiny body so she was propped up against him. He shook her as she started to cough.

"Noah?" Rachel mumbled, she blinked her bleary eyes.

"I'm here, Rachel,"  
"I'm terrified to sleep. I see this all the time. I don't know if I am strong enough to keep going through this."

"Yes, you are. Were you not there today? That kind of things takes strength. I'm proud of you. You kicked ass." Rachel smiled weakly.

"Just sleep for a while." He lowered his head and placed a kiss on the side of her mouth.

* * *

**We're nearing the end.  
I'm combining two chapters to make one, so we only have a few left according to my plan.  
I hope you are all enjoying it.**

**Chapter 13 should be up next week.**

**Reviewing is the best thing you could do!**

**xoxo.  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

* * *

**_

Rachel knew that Puck had his moments. She just never knew he could be sweet. What he did for her three hours ago was something she never expected from Puck.

It wasn't Puck who had his arm around her. It wasn't Puck who ran his fingertips up and down her arm as she slept. That was all Noah. Rachel enjoyed it so much that she pretended she was still asleep.

She moved a little which caused Puck to jump.

"Sorry." He whispered. He moved a strand of hair out of her face.

"How long did I sleep?" Rachel sat up and blinked a few times. Puck glanced at his watch.

"Three hours."

"Oh, I'm sorry Noah. I didn't mean to make you stay here. You probably had plans." She smoothed her hair.

"Just to practice."  
"You weren't going to do anything with Santana?"  
"What makes you think I want to hang out with her?"  
" She's your girlfriend." Puck laughed.

"No, not since last night." Rachel raised her eyebrow. "I'll tell you what I'm telling everyone else. I got bored." She shook her head.

"Whatever you say." She said before she put her head back on his shoulder.

They continued to sit on the couch with his arm around her until her dad came in. Alexander had a ghost of a smile on his face when he saw the two of them.

"Hey dad!" Rachel beamed up at her father.

"Hello, baby girl." He smiled fully in return. "I take it that you are Noah Puckerman."

"Yes sir." Alexander raised his eyebrows at his daughter.

"Well, you are welcome to stay for dinner."

"Um, yeah. Thanks." Puck said as he ran a hand over his Mohawk.

"I'll let you know when it's ready."

Puck let out a sigh as soon as Alexander was (hopefully) out of earshot. "He hates me."

"That's absurd, Noah. He doesn't hate you."

"We were just sitting on your couch. Happy, content, and my arm around you. Your hair is kind of a mess and your face is all flushed and shit."

"Why would that make him hate you?" He nearly laughed at how naive she could be.

"Think about it." He prompted. It took her a few seconds but she slowly began to turn red as she grasped what he said. Her jaw dropped and she gasped.

"Noah, I highly doubt that my dad thinks we are-"

"Having sex?" Puck supplied. Her face became redder (if that was possible). Puck just grinned.

* * *

They were in Rachel's kitchen, hand-washing dishes after dinner. They were both quiet and were okay with staying that way.

"Rachel, I need you to bake something for me for tomorrow." Alexander called to his daughter from the study. "I would but-"  
"But you want it to turn out correctly?" Rachel laughed.  
"Hush now, baby girl." Alexander appeared in the doorway.  
"What is if for?" Rachel asked while she handed Puck another glass.

"Dr. Wayridge invited me to a group. It's for gay men who have lost their partners." Rachels face turned white. She turned sharply and stormed outside.

"Rachel, wait." Alexander attempted to go after her. Puck held out his arm telling Alexander to stop.

"Let me talk to her. I can calm her down." Alexander looked at the door with a worried expression.

Puck walked into the studio where Rachel sat in one of the chairs, her back ramrod straight.

"Rachel, are you okay?" Puck asked quietly.

"It's only been three months since the accident."  
"He is tryin to cope, Rach. It's not a bad thing."

"I don't want him to forget Daddy. They loved each other."

"He'd want your dad to be happy." Puck sat on the arm of the chair Rachel was in. He remembered the day he told her that her daddy would want her to be strong. She seemed to doubt everything so much.

"I know that, I do. How am I supposed to deal with the fact that my father is trying to get over my daddy? How do I just sit there while he is out enjoying himself while his daughter still grieves? It's going to suck."  
"Then go to dinner with me tomorrow night when your dad is gone." Rachel looked up at Puck. "It'd be fun. Face it, Rachel, you need to have fun. Loosen up a little bit." Rachel smiled.

"I guess that would be good." Puck smiled back at her after her agreement.

"I've got to get going. I'll meet you here tomorrow."

"Good night, Noah."

* * *

Finn watched in disbelief as Puck's truck pulled out of Rachel's driveway. It was weird because Puck was hooking up with a cougar, or at least that is what he led all the guys to believe.

It was a total coincidence that Finn was driving by Rachel's house. He wasn't there to ask her out on a date (as friends of course) tomorrow. Okay, he was but he started thinking that heading to Puck's house first would be in his best interest. After all, catching Puck in a lie would nearly seal the deal with Rachel. Finn was sure of that much.

Finn pulled up nearly an hour after he left Rachel's because he didn't want to raise suspicion. He got out of his own vehicle and walked up to the door. After knocking a few times, the door finally opened to reveal Elina Puckerman.

"Finn, how are you doing?"

"I'm great. Is Puck here?" Elina rolled her eyes.

"Noah is upstairs. Go on up."

Finn walked up the stairs, not caring that Puck wasn't going to be happy to see him. Puck looked up when he heard the door to his room open. He scowled at Finn but decided it best to be nice since he saw his mother in the background.

"Hey dude." Puck said while trying his hardest to act like he normally did with Finn. He hadn't told his mother that he and Finn weren't on the best of terms.

"Hey man. How was your hook up?" Puck frowned.

"What hook up?"

"The one you rushed out of the locker room for."

"Oh, that." Puck said with a shrug. "I was practicing for glee with Rachel." Puck was absentmindedly strummed his guitar, playing "Sweet Caroline". Finn shook his head. He had come in hopes that he'd be able to catch Puck in a lie

"How's that going?"

"What are you doing here?" Puck asked then shook his head. "You know what? Never mind. I know why you're here. You wanted to tell Rachel some shit about me."  
"You're making Rachel think that you're into her. I think that as her friend, I need to tell her that you aren't."  
"You fucked with her head and told her that no one would want her."

"She needs to know not to get her hopes up."

"Fuck you dude." Puck spat at his once best friend.

"Just admit it, Puck. You don't do girlfriends."  
"Santana was my girlfriend."  
"That just proves my point! You broke up with her because you got bored!"  
"Hudson, drop it. Rachel is a great friend. Period."  
"Whatever man. Just don't hurt her." He paused. "If you hurt her, I will hurt you." He moved to leave the room. "You can count on it."

Puck glared at the door after it closed.

* * *

**This one isn't as long as the next ones will be. I just wanted to get this posted when I said I would. **

**Thank you all so much for reading! You don't know how much it means that so many of you have added this to your favorites and alerts and reviewing. **

**Speaking of reviewing, the person that gives me my 100****th**** review for this story can send me any plot of any genre, an expected word count, and content requests and I'll write a one-shot or a multi chapter story.**

**I love doing stuff like that. =)**

**Xoxo. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

* * *

**_

Who the fuck did Finn think he was? Threatening Puck was going to do no good, because he wasn't going to hurt her. He honestly wanted Rachel to be his friend, and he was trying to work up a way to get his friends to be okay with her.

Rachel woke up in a somewhat bad mood. It was Friday and she had to go to school. She would have tons of homework and she also had to bake a bunch of stuff as soon as she got back home. She only had one thing to look forward to. It was dinner with Noah.

She wasn't sure why she was looking forward to it. She knew that it only meant that he would excel at their glee assignment, but she couldn't help it. She really liked him. She liked him more than Finn and that was saying something.

He didn't say anything, didn't look to her at school but that wasn't out of the ordinary. She was used to being ignored when other people were around.

During free period, Rachel watched Puck leave the main school building to go out to the track. He went out there every chance he got, running off his anger and frustration so he didn't blow up at everyone (because he was working on that shit.) So, Rachel decided that it would be a good time to sit under her favorite tree. It had always been her favorite, even before her heart to heart with Puck.

He had been watching her all day. She was more quiet than usual, and it was kinda hot when he knew that there wasn't something wrong. He noticed her watching him when he left for the track and he could see her going toward the tree.

He didn't want to make it seem obvious that he noticed her, so he ran for a little while to give her time to relax before he went over to her.

She was watching him now, and when he felt her eyes on him, he slowed to a slow jog and looked at her. She saw the slight smile that appeared on his face. He went to his duffel bag and then made his way over to her. He wiped his forehead and arms with a white towel as he walked.

"Hey, Rachel. What are you doing out here?" He asked as he moved to sit next to her.

"I didn't feel like sitting in the library today." He nodded. "How was your run?"  
"Short."  
"You didn't have to stop just because you saw me." She looked at her shoes.

"I know that. Just wanted to talk I guess." He shrugged. "So, um, what time should I pick you up tonight?"

"Dad doesn't leave until 6. So if you could come over just before that, I'd appreciate it." Puck smiled because he knew she was also doing that for his benefit. She knew that he didn't do well with girls' parents.

"Yeah, I can do that." They were sitting in comfortable silence for a little while. Rachel loved the moments where they didn't have to say anything, that their presence was all that was needed.

They had only ten minutes left of their free period so Rachel was getting anxious. Puck stood up and extended his hand to help her up.

"Thank you, Noah." She spoke after she stood up. She tried to take her hand from him, but he had other ideas. He pulled her close to him and kissed her.

At first, she didn't respond. She was surprised that he was kissing her. On school grounds. In broad daylight. But the initial surprise wore off and she began to kiss him back.

"What was that for?" Rachel asked quietly when he pulled away.

He leaned in to whisper into her ear. "I felt like it." The warmth of his breath on her ear sent shivers up her spine. Before she could say anything as a reply, the bell rang and signaled the end of the hour. "Get to class, Rachel." He squeezed her hand and gave her a wink before walking to the locker rooms.

They didn't know that someone had heard them talking and that someone had seen them kiss, but someone did.

And she was pissed.

* * *

Santana nearly flew down the hallway as she looked for Puck. There was no way in hell he was with Rachel. Puck was above that. Furthermore, he had only broken things off like yesterday.

The anger she felt had only increased when she couldn't find Puck. She looked in the parking lot for his truck only to find that it wasn't there. The only cold comfort she had was that Rachel wasn't with him.

She was going to do something about this, this whole Rachel and Puck thing. It just couldn't happen. The social hierarchy wouldn't stand for it. She spent an entire hour thinking of ways she could prevent what she thought was going on. They were going to go to dinner, but she had no idea where. That was going to be a problem.

She thought that she would be all on her own when she heard Daniel Sampson venting to some random second string football players. He was still pissed over what Rachel had done. She couldn't just stick up for herself. She needed to hurt or he would lose his place as top dog at McKinley. He worked his ass off, he told the other guys, to get to where he was. Puck held the spot for so long that no one thought they would ever have a chance. But now Puck wasn't in control and things were going to change.

Santana got an evil grin as she thought about the kind of revenge the two of them would be able to achieve.

"Daniel," Santana said from across the hall. "I have a proposition for you." The smile Daniel had told Santana that he understood exactly what she meant.

"Fill me in, San."

"It has to do with Rachel." Daniel's grin almost reflected Santana's.

"What do you need me to do?"

* * *

Rachel paced in front of her window. This wasn't a big deal. It was just dinner.

It was just dinner with her friend Noah.

Puck knocked hesitantly on the front door of the Berry household. He wasn't exactly looking forward to dinner out. Especially not after he heard David talking in the locker room after practice about getting revenge on Rachel. He wasn't in the mood to deal with David's shit.

_Fucking David and his asshole status._

Rachel's dad opened the door and stared Puck down.

"Hello Mr. Berry." He said politely. He was terrible with parents. It seemed that Rachel's dad was going to be a hard guy to get along with. He was way over protective of his daughter.

"Noah." He replied with no interest. "I'll get Rachel." He left Puck standing in the doorway. He entered the house and shut the door behind him. "She will be down in a minute." Alexander said as he made his way back down the stairs. His disinterest stunned Puck. Normally Alexander quizzed him over what he was going to be doing even when they were just hanging out in the studio. "Come in." He said at last, leading Puck past the entry way and into the living room.

It was obvious to Puck that Alexander was in a hurry, as he kept looking at his watch then at the stairs to see if Rachel was ready yet. It was another five minutes before Rachel came down and Alexander was visibly happier. "I'd like her home by midnight."

They went to the diner on Saint Johns Road. It was the diner all the McKinley high students loved. Rachel really wasn't sure why Puck chose a place frequented by the majority of the jocks.

"Why are we here?" Puck noticed the anxiety in her voice.

"It's relaxing, the food is great. I figured that we could work on the instrument arrangements for our glee assignment." Rachel couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. She was so surprised that Puck had thought this dinner thing through.

They were laughing and talking about random things until the door of the diner opened, bringing attention to the two people that just made their way inside the restaurant. Santana approached their table, holding hands with Daniel.

"Puckerman, what are you doing here with…that?" Daniel motioned towards Rachel. Rachel's posture stiffened.

"Looks like we are eating. We were laughing about how she slammed you the other day." Puck replied nonchalantly, biting into a fry. Daniel's face turned red, and a growl emitted from his throat.

This was _not _part of the plan she had made with Daniel. Puck was supposed to get embarrassed, and say that he had no choice, that he didn't really want to be with her. But he was protecting her and Daniel was being something like a jealous ex boyfriend.

"Is there something you needed, Daniel?" Rachel asked, ever the polite lady.

"Don't talk to me." Daniel said. His eyes were set in a glare and focused on Puck.

"Are you jealous, Samson?" Puck asked. "Wish Rachel wanted to spend time with you?" Rachel's eyes widened at Puck's ludicrous accusation.

"Noah," Rachel warned.

"Why would I want to spend time with her? She's toxic." Daniel retorted. Puck stood up and got in the other guys face.

"Watch your mouth, Samson, if you want to keep it." Puck threatened. "Now, I suggest you and Santana get the hell away from my table. And keep your fucking mouths shut about her. Got it?" Rachel could barely hear what he was saying, but the venom was clearer to her than any words.

Santana tugged on Daniel's hand and pulled him away from the table. Puck asked Rachel is she was ready to go. When she nodded, he led her to the front counter, paid the bill and followed her to his truck.

Once they were both inside, he turned to her. "Sorry for that. Daniel is a dick, and Santana is… Well, she is Santana."  
"It's fine." Rachel insisted.

"No, I shouldn't have picked the diner."

"Really Noah, it's fine.

They returned to Rachel's house about four hours before he was required to get her home.

"Would you like to come in?" Rachel asked shyly.

"Yeah, that'd be cool."

They sat down on the living room couch to watch a movie. Puck was more than surprised that she had chosen 'Law Abiding Citizen'. Puck loved the movie, but was finding Rachel's reactions to the film much more entertaining. Every time there was a loud noise, Rachel would jump, and every time she jumped her body moved closer to him until their upper thighs were touching. Puck grinned at Rachel.

"It's not scary, Rachel. Why're you jumping at the noises?"

"Because I'm not expecting it!" Puck laughed and shook his head.

"They're just sounds."

"So you've said. Do you want a cupcake or something? I went on that baking tangent earlier. "

"Sounds awesome." Rachel didn't reply, she just hurried to the kitchen and returned to the living room with a cupcake with chocolate frosting.

"I'm sorry that dinner turned out the way it did."

"How were you supposed to know that Santana would show up?"

"I should have. Santana used to drag me to the diner on weekends. If she would have been alone, it would have been fine." He paused. "I heard Daniel talking about wanting to get revenge on you for what you did the other day." Rachel laughed.

"He certainly got it, didn't he?" She asked sarcastically.

"If I would have known that Daniel and Santana were plotting something, we wouldn't have gone there."

"Noah, honestly, it's fine. Though, I imagine the encounter was awkward for you."

"That's an understatement." Puck laughed.

"Well, I enjoyed the evening regardless. Thank you for staying here and keeping my mind off of everything. It's getting late though, and my father will be home son."

"Yeah, it's no problem." Puck took his uneaten cupcake and stood from the couch. "I'll see you tomorrow. Only got two more days to practice. Thanks for the cupcake."

Rachel walked him to the door. She got on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"Goodnight."

It was 2:30 when Alexander finally returned from the group. He tried to sneak upstairs.

"Dad, why are you just getting home?" Rachel asked, making her father jump.

"Baby girl, I appreciate that you're concerned about me, but I am the father. I don't have a curfew."

"Yes, I know. However, I'd still like to know that you're okay." Her voice broke as she spoke.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel." He kissed her forehead. "I didn't realize." He spoke in a whisper. "How was your date?" She blushed.

"It wasn't a date, it was just dinner and discussing our glee assignment."

"And a movie." He motioned to the case on the table. "You wouldn't watch that by yourself." Rachel silently scolded herself for not picking the case up. She didn't want her dad to make a big deal about what had happened with Noah. They were friends.

"I told you, it wasn't a date."

"Sweetie, it was definitely a date."

"Noah doesn't like me like that." Rachel assured her father.

"If that's what you want to believe, I'll let you." She rolled her eyes.

"Good night, dad."

"Night, baby girl." She turned and went up the stairs.

Rachel didn't sleep that night. She was stuck in her room, alone with her thoughts, and that was never a good thing. There was no way that Noah had a thing for her. No one did. He may have kissed her, but with Puck, that didn't exactly mean anything. She shook her head, trying to make her mind stop wishing that Puck did like her.

* * *

Saturday, Rachel decided that she should give the chance to redeem himself. He had apologized to her for all the things he had said, and it was only fair since she gave one to puck. Finn deserved one.

They were sitting on the floor of the studio, laughing when she remembered that she was supposed have Puck over to practice the piano/guitar arrangements for their duet.

-Hey, are we going to practice today?-

She sent the message to Puck and went back to pretending she was interested in whatever Finn was saying.

*Yeah. around 4. That cool?*

-Sure.-

*It'd be earlier, but I'm cleaning pools 2day*

Finn noticed that Rachel wasn't giving him her undivided attention, that she was very distracted by whoever was texting her.

"Who ya texting?"

"Just N- Puck. I'm texting Puck."

"Oh, what did you do Thursday and Friday?" He asked.

"Nothing really. I was busy practicing for glee with Puck."

"You were with Puck?"

"Yes, I was. Is there a point to where you are taking this conversation?"

"I guess. I was told that Puck was off with Mrs. King. Or Mrs. Mendez. But I'm sure he was with you." Finn said innocently.

"I assure you, he was with me." Rachel said firmly. "He was not with a cougar either of those days."

"Are you sure?" Finn questioned. "He told me that Mrs. King was definite on Fridays." Rachel's eyes began to sting.

"Finn, I really don't want to talk about this right now. He probably was with Mrs. King before he came over." She said, no longer doubting Finn.

* * *

Puck was at Mrs. Mendez's house finishing her pool before he headed to Rachel's. Mrs. Mendez, or Stephi as she asked him to call her, was probably the hottest mom on Cedar St. and he liked to think that she was his best lay of the week.

Saturdays were his favorite days because he had a reason to be at her house. It wasn't unusual for his truck to be parked across the street from the house. Since the Mendez's had the biggest pool in town, it normally took a while for him to get it completely clean, and he would always take his time.

Today he wasn't taking his time and he was avoiding all contact with Stephi because he didn't have time to deal with her. It wasn't just Stephi; he wanted to spend time with Rachel. After their dinner turned date, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He also couldn't stop thinking about how Finn wasn't happy about Puck spending time with her and wanted to screw everything over.

Puck was actually into her. He was pretty sure that he _liked_ her. And Puck went after the girls that he liked. The only problem he saw was that Rachel wasn't just a girl he could fuck and throw away. She deserved better than that. She deserved a boyfriend, and for some reason he wanted to be that boyfriend. He did, but he wasn't able to be with just one girl. His life had always been about pleasing the ladies (plural) never the singular. It was against his code or something.

He figured he'd ask Rachel out again, this time for an actual date, and see where it went. The least he could do is try.

Stephi wasn't happy when Puck didn't want to go inside to get his money. He told her that he had a lot to do, more pools and stuff and he couldn't spend the time. She called his bluff, because she knew that he only did her on Saturdays. She went so far as to tell him that she would fire him. He couldn't lose the best lay around. He just couldn't. Four o'clock was approaching fast and he needed to get to Rachel's.

His previous thoughts of wanting to be her boyfriend didn't stop him from following her inside and smirking as he took her on the kitchen table.

He got to his truck at five thirty, smelling like sex and cigarettes. He had a smug look that screamed good sex. He pulled away from the Mendez house and headed across town.

* * *

Rachel and Finn were laying next to each other in her back yard.

"Quinn keeps telling me about her guys on the side. It bugs me."

"You have an open relationship, Finn."

"Well, that doesn't mean I want to know." Rachel shook his head.

"Then tell her." Finn lifted his head from the grass and looked at her.

"I never thought of that." He said with a smile.

Rachel looked at her watch. It was 5:50.

"It's been almost two hours, Rachel."

"I know that, Finn."

"Do you think he is with Mrs. Mendez?"

"I don't know."

"I heard she was spectacular." Finn said quietly.

"What?" Her question was met with silence.

"I'm just saying, I bet he is with her."

"I really don't want to know." Rachel whispered.

"You like him, right?"

"I thought I did. I thought he might like me."

"Puck is good at playing people, Rachel. Don't let him get to you."

"I'm not." She insisted. She halted conversation when she heard Puck's truck. It was so sad that she knew exactly what it sounded like. Finn looked at her in sympathy.

"Puck's here." Finn announced so Rachel didn't have to. Now, it sounded like it was turning onto her street. "I guess I should get going now." Finn went to stand up, Rachel shook her head.

"No, he won't be staying."

"You sure, Rachel?"

She wasn't able to confirm before Puck got to the backyard. He almost didn't see the pair laying in the grass.

"Hey Rachel." He said, completely ignoring Finn's presence. "What are you doing out here?"

"You are two hours late. So, Finn and I decided to hang out a little longer."

"I thought we were going to practice the piano and guitar arrangements?"

"No, I've got it down. You just need to practice. Which, after thinking about it, you can do by yourself."

"Rachel," Puck began.

"I'll let you two talk." Finn said as he turned to go inside the studio.

"What the fuck is going on?"

"Watch your language, Noah. I don't appreciate it."

"Then what the hell is going on?"

"Do you like me?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"What is this about?" His face was clearly puzzled.

"Were you late because you were with Mrs. Mendez?" Puck let out a breath of frustration.

"You want the truth? Of course you do. Yes, I was with Stephi, but I had meant to come over right after I finished her pool. And I would have if she hadn't threatened me."

"Well, I guess it's true what they say? _Once a player, always a player."_

"She was going- I'm not playing you, Rachel." Finn laughed from the doorway.

"I think you should go." Rachel left Puck standing in the middle of her backyard. The door to the studio closed. Finn came up behind Puck and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Looks like I win this one." Finn said, Puck looked over his shoulder to see that Finn was wearing an extremely smug grin.

"This isn't a fucking contest, Hudson."

"Kinda feels like it." Finn laughed again and went to join Rachel in the studio.

Puck was left to walk back to his truck and wonder how the fuck the day ended how it did.

Finn had to hide the smirk from Rachel. He was feeling great, Rachel was basically his. It wouldn't take much to get her.

"Finn, I'm not feeling well." Rachel placed her hand on his forearm.

"Alright, I'll text you."

* * *

She was getting ready to crawl into bed for the night when her phone went off.

*Rachel…* Rachel sighed when she read the text from Puck.

-What?-

*I wanted to ask you something.*

-What is it?-

*I wanted to ask you out. Like for real.*

-Did you decide this while you were having sex with what's her name?-

*No. It was before.*

-No.-

*Just give me a chance.* If Rachel didn't know better, she would think that Puck really did want a chance.

-Why?-

*Because, I actually like you.*

-You have a great way of showing it. If you really do, prove it.-

She closed her eyes as she held the power button down. She didn't want to read anything he said.

It turned out, she didn't have to. He didn't reply.

* * *

**Longest chapter to date.**

**Saint Johns Road is actually in Lima. The diner St. Johns R&B Restaurant is real too.**

**I hope you are all enjoying this still.**

**Only a little bit left!**

**Reviews are so appreciated, and they provide drive. So please review.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

* * *

**_

The glee club was amazed by the duet. No one knew that Puck was capable of being a leading male if he wanted to. The point he was trying to make to Rachel was that he was trying, and she was the reason he was. He needed to impress her.

Since the night he royally screwed up by screwing Stephi, Puck had been racking his brain for a way to prove that he like her. And he had come up with the perfect idea.

* * *

Three weeks had passed, and since glee had preformed their duets, Rachel and Puck had no reason to be around each other. Rachel made sure that she was never close to him unless choreography called for it. She never stayed around him long enough for him to talk to her, and it was really starting to piss him off. Seriously, how the hell was he supposed to prove that he like her if she was avoiding him?

He knew he was running out of time because she was beginning to look at Finn the way she did before the accident, and Puck wasn't about to let that shit start again. Summer was coming and soon he would have snowballs chance in hell of getting the girl. And damnit, he wanted her.

He knew he should have left Stephi's house when he first planned, but he didn't. He did what he always did, he thought with his dick. This ended up being the opposite of what he wanted and pushed Rachel right into Finn's arms.

He'd never admit it, because he was a badass, but after what happened, he was really tempted to kick himself.

He had that half-thought out plan that he'd come up with almost a month ago. It was kind of a long shot, but it wasn't like he had any other options. He would need near perfect timing for his plan to work, because he needed Rachel alone.

Rachel was walking down the hall after leaving the bathroom. Suddenly, the door to one of the many storage rooms flung open and someone grabbed her arm. She nearly screamed in surprise. She was guided to the middle of the room, and the assailant closed the door and leaned against it.

"Puck, you can't do that!" Rachel cried out.

"Shhh."

"Don't you dare 'shhh' me. You pulled me into a storage closet."

"I had a good reason." Puck said.

"It had better be a good one." Rachel put her hand on her hips.

"Okay. You remember that night I was late for practice and you told me I had to prove that I like you?"

"Yes, and while you have had sufficient time to prove that you do, I should remind you that you didn't text back."

"I'm sorry. I've been thinking about how to prove to you that I do like you. And well, it took some time to do it."

"What is it that you did?" She glanced at her digital watch. "I'm meeting Finn in five minutes."

"I haven't had sex." Rachel scoffed.

"Oh, and how does Mrs. Mendez feel about that?"

"You don't understand. I haven't had sex. At all since that night."

"Big deal, Noah." Puck smiled. "I mean Puck. Big deal, Puck."

"Do you want to know why?" He asked.

"Not really." Rachel lied. She _did_ want to know what had caused the change in him. And if it was because of her, she was pretty sure she'd faint.

"I am sick of killing my chances with you. I don't want to ruin it." Puck shook his head for telling her what was in his head, but if it helped, he was going to keep it up.

"What?" Rachel looked confused. As if she didn't already know that he had gone without sex for almost a month for her.

"I want a chance with you. So, if me having sex with chicks,"

"Don't forget cougars." Rachel interrupted. Puck wasn't sure why she said that. Cougars were still chicks, just a lot older.

"With anyone." He clarified. "I won't."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I don't want to be with anyone else."

"What?" Rachel whispered, feeling rather dumb for her repeated use of the word 'what'.

"You know, for a smart girl, you are asking a lot of questions." Rachel swatted his arm. He moved from the door and pulled her into his arms. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Go out with me."

"I don't know, Puck." He kissed her right below the earlobe. Rachel's head bent forward.

"One chance, that's all. Let me," His voice was husky as he finished his sentence. "Show you that you're the only person I want."

"Okay." She replied, hating how breathless she sounded. "One chance." She pulled away from him. "When?"

"Saturday night." She smiled. "I'll pick you up at 6:30."

"I'll see you later." She whispered before she left him in the storage room.

He let out a big breath and ran his hand over his Mohawk. He didn't think it would be that easy to convince her, but he was really glad that it was. Now that he had his chance, there was no stopping him.

He left the storage room with a smile. Walking by the music hall, he heard Rachel talking to Finn in the choir room.

"Babe," Finn said, his voices made Puck clench his fists. Finn was still with Quinn, so he really had no business talking to Rachel like that. "What do you think about having dinner on Saturday?" Puck held his breath, so sure that Rachel was going to give in.

"I can't." Rachel replied, giving Puck a reason to be happy again.

"Why not?" Finn questioned, sounding very defensive.

"I have plans."

"Hanging out with your dad doesn't count." Finn said with a laugh.

"The plans are not with my father."

"Then who? You don't have any friends."

"If you must know, I have plans with Noah." Puck smiled more when she used his name. He always preferred Noah when she said it. Finn growled at Rachel.

"You've got to be kidding me. We've talked about this. He is just trying to fuck you. He ditched you to get some." Puck thought he might need to have a talk with his former best friend.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Rachel defended.

"You've already give him a second chance."

"You are no better than what you say he is. You did exactly what you claim he is doing. Honestly, your opinion on this matter is just that, an opinion. It isn't up for discussion." Rachel turned on her heel and left Finn in the room.

Puck was really glad there was a wall he could hide behind, because he didn't think Rachel needed to know he was eavesdropping. Puck strutted into the choir room.

"Hey, Finn." Puck said nonchalantly.

"What?" Finn growled. He was obviously still pissed because of what Rachel had just told him.

"Leave Rachel alone if you're going to treat her like shit because she is giving me another chance. Fuck knows I probably don't deserve one, but she is giving me one anyway."

"So I heard." Finn grumbles, turning from Puck and making his way to the exit. "I stand by what I said before. Hurt her, I'll hurt you." Puck didn't know why Finn was playing the protective ex card. It wasn't a card he should be allowed to use, considering that Rachel wasn't an ex. Puck shrugged his shoulders at the empty room, deciding it best to get out of there before someone thinks he actually enjoys spending time in there.

* * *

"Ma, it's just dinner. That's it. We've had dinner before." Puck mumbled.

"It's nice to see you interested in a Jewish girl."

"Is she pretty?" Mady asked from behind him. He turned around and picked his little sister up.

"She is very pretty." He said with a smile.

"I don't want you out too late, Noah. So please be home before1. And be quiet when you come in." She kissed his cheek, which caused him to make the 'mom, don't do that' face.

"I have to go; I don't want to be late." His statement made his mother smile.

"Have fun, Noah." Mady said cheerfully before skipping up the stairs.

When Puck got to Rachel's house, he checked the clock in his truck. He was ten minutes early. What had this girl done to him? He'd never been on time to pick a girl up before. Most of the time he was late on purpose. He pulled out his phone and texted her.

*What are you wearing?*

-That's highly inappropriate, Noah.- He laughed at her reply.

*To dinner. What are you wearing to dinner.*

-I don't know. What is too dressy?-

*Insanely long dresses.*

-You just want to see my legs.- Puck was surprised that she had caught that because normally she was so oblivious.

*Guilty.*

Rachel grinned at her phone. She liked how blunt Puck was, because it was easy to tell what he was thinking. She looked outside and saw his truck. She quickly decided that she needed to get dressed. She hadn't even realized that it was almost 6:30.

Puck knocked on the front door of the berry house and realized he was nervous. He didn't get nervous. Especially when it came to girls. He didn't care if he actually liked Rachel; he wasn't supposed to get nervous because he was a fucking stud. Alexander opened the door before Puck could think about it anymore.

"Hello, Noah. You look nice." Puck ran his hand over his Mohawk and stood awkwardly on the front porch. "Come in." Alexander turned and led Puck into the entrance hall. "Rachel, sweetie, Noah is here." He looked pointedly at Puck and lowered his voice. "Don't hurt my girl, Mr. Puckerman."

"I don't plan on it."

"Was it planned to toss slushies in her face every day?"  
"Yes, sir." Puck said quietly. Alexander stayed quiet for a moment and just stared.

"Honesty is an admirable quality."

"I don't do that anymore, Mr. Berry."

"Why did you before?"

"Um." Puck swallowed. "I was doing it to be cool."

"Dad, please stop interrogating him." Puck looked over at the stairs and his jaw almost hit the floor.

She was wearing a light blue dress that cut off mid-thigh just like her skirts did. Her hair was lying on her shoulders; the ends were curled in toward her face, framing it in a way. Her lips were glossy and Puck tried to guess what flavor they were.

"Wow." Puck said before he could catch himself. "You look great." Rachel blushed.

"Thank you, Noah."

"I won't be home tonight." Alexander informed them both. "But I would still like for Rachel to be home at a decent hour." Puck nodded.

"Of course. We should head out." He said to Rachel.

"Enjoy your night." Alexander said.

"You too, Dad."

Puck opened the passenger door of his truck for her.

"Thank you." She said as she sat in the seat. He walked in front of the cab, which gave Rachel the opportunity to admire him.

His shirt was light blue plaid; the color nearly matched her dress. The sleeves cut off and showed off his 'guns' beautifully. He got inside the truck.

"Okay, so I was thinking we could go to this really kick ass steak house. I can't remember the name of it thought." Rachel laughed.

"That sounds great. What else do you have planned?" She asked.

"Whatever you'd like. I chose dinner, you choose the entertainment." He looked at her and smirked.

"Noah!" She playfully swatted at his arm.

The rest of the ride was kind of quiet except for when Rachel would hum or sing softly with the radio.

They were seated in a booth near the middle of the restaurant. Their waitress was a gorgeous blond named Georgia. Rachel fully expected Puck to stare at her, but his eyes never strayed from Rachel and when they did, they focused on the waitress' face. During the meal, Georgia tried her hardest to get Puck's attention, she pushed her chest out and noticed that she kept flipping her hair over her shoulder, but Puck didn't seem interested.

It shouldn't have surprised Rachel because Puck said he was going to prove that he wasn't interested in anyone else.

"Can I get you anything else?" The waitress asked, clearly annoyed at Puck's obvious disinterest.

"Do you want anything?" He asked Rachel quietly. She shook her head and smiled at him. "No, just the check." The blonde nodded and handed him the black book that held the check.

After he paid, he was about to sign the paper when he saw the small folded up paper. He already knew what it was.

He looked up at Rachel, who was staring at the paper. He took the paper, and without even looking at the numbers, set it on the table.

When they got to his truck, he wouldn't start it.

"Noah, why are we just sitting here?"

"You haven't told me what else we are doing."

"Pool." He looked over at her in shock. "Don't look shocked. It looks fun."

"Looks? You're telling me that you've never played pool?" She shook her head. "We're going to fix that right now."

"Wait," Rachel started. She was so worried what he would think about her thought process. "Aren't you worried about people seeing us?"

"All they are going to see is me with a smokin' hot chick." His comment made her blush.

"You know what I meant, Noah."

"Do you care what people will think?" He asked.

"Do you? Your popularity means a lot to you." He just smirked, turned the truck on and left the parking lot.

They ended up at Bruno's, a place Puck and Finn used to hang out at, especially when Puck was watching Madyson.

"I've never been here."

"That's why we're here, Rach." He opened the door for her and let her enter the building.

The place wasn't too crowded. Rachel recognized a few people from school. There were people in line to Kart race, wall climb, and head to the batting cages. There weren't many people playing pool. Six of the ten red felt pool tables were empty and waiting for someone to play.

"Hey, Puck." The guy behind the main counter spoke. He was big and burly and looked like he was in his mid-twenties. He kind of looked like he was a mix between Hispanic and African American, but the Hispanic was much more prominent. He looked tough, but his eyes were soft.

"Sup, Bruno." Puck replied with a lift of his head.

"It's been a while since I've see you in here." He looked over Puck's should and let out a low whistle. "Who's the hottie?" Rachel's face turned a light shade of pink.

"Down, Bruno." Puck joked. "This is Rachel. Rachel, this is Bruno."

"Hello." Rachel greeted the man shyly.

"Hello." Bruno replied before returning his gaze to Puck. "What brings you two here?"

"Rachel has never played pool." Bruno's eyebrows rose slightly.

"By all means, teach her." Puck rolled his eyes, grabbed the tray that held the balls and led Rachel to the table in the corner. It just happened to be the one furthest from Bruno.

"He seems…" She paused to think of a word. "Friendly." Puck laughed.

"He's a great guy. He taught Finn and me how to kill at poker." Puck grinned at the memory. He grabbed two cue sticks and handed on to Rachel. "Chalk up." He said.

"Huh?" She asked when he handed her the cube. He laughed then showed her what she needed to do. "But why?"

"It makes the shots easier." She smiled at his patience with her. He took the triangle to rack the balls. "I'm going to break." Rachel shrugged.

His break was near perfect, or so he told her. One of the striped balls went into the left corner pocket. "That means that I'm stripes." He explained. "I'm going to teach you how to shoot now." He guided her so that her right arm was lined up with the cue ball. He showed her how to position her hand and how to use the space between her right thumb and index finger to keep the cue stick steady. "Don't pull back too far or you will hit the ball with more power than necessary." Rachel did what Puck showed her but ended up scratching.

"What did I do wrong?"

"Too much power, not enough control."

"Would you help me?" Puck smiled and nodded. He stood behind her to help and almost laughed at the movie cliché that was happening, but he didn't really care. He really enjoyed the feel of her body in his arms.

"Noah, I still don't know which ones I'm supposed to shoot at."

"Aim at the solid colored ones."

Two hours later, they were only on game three.

"I need you two to wrap it up. I need to close." Bruno called across the room.

Puck and Rachel laughed as they collected the balls and brought them up to Bruno. They stood there as he returned everything to its correct location.

"Puckerman," a voice called from somewhere near the batting cages. Puck turned to look at who shouted his name.

Rachel turned as well and looked over at the guy. He looked like he was 5'9. He had blonde hair with a red-ish tint. He was obviously a jock. His body type was right between Finn and Puck. She was pretty sure that she'd seen him before.

"Truman, dude." Puck and Truman did that weird guy handshake that Rachel figured every guy on the planet knew and used. "How's it goin'?"

"Pretty good, man. How's your junior year? And who is this girl?"

"I'm passing." He looked at Rachel. "This is Rachel Berry. Rach, this is Arthur Truman. He graduated last year."

"Truman? You took the basketball team to state last year." Both boys looked at her; it was obvious that they were astonished by her knowledge.

"Yeah, and you helped organize the community theatre musical when you were a freshman."

"Lion King?" Puck asked, only remembering the musical because he painted sets. He didn't remember that Rachel organized it. Rachel nodded with a smile. Puck tried not to frown. Truman just made him look like an idiot, maybe worse. Rachel noticed how tense Puck had become after Arthur mentioned her past triumphs. It seemed that Puck didn't remember that she was involved with the community theatre.

"It was lovely to meet you, Arthur. I need to get home." She prompted.

Puck got into the truck without a word.

"I don't know what to call you around your friends." She said when they were halfway to her house.

"I dunno. Whatever you feel like calling me, I guess."

"Okay." She said before falling into silence once more.

"Do you remember when you told me that I only know enough about chicks to make sure I get laid?" He didn't wait for an answer because Rachel didn't forget arguments. "I realized that I don't even know that much about you. Then I thought, how am I supposed to prove that I am into you if I don't know anything about you."

"You know my favorite slushie flavor." She said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. Puck laughed.

"Tell me about you."

"I'll tell you the things you know so you can see that you know more that you think."

"How do you know what I know?"

"Because, I've heard you say them." She replied simply.

They parked in her driveway and he motioned to ask if she wanted to go inside.

"No, you are more comfortable right here." He smiled in wonder of how she could possibly know that about him. She didn't let him get another thought before she launched into a speech. "You know that I want to be on Broadway. You know my favorite color is pink. My favorite musical is Funny Girl." She paused and lowered her voice. "You know what to say to me when I think about Daddy. You are the only person that knows about my night terrors. You've stuck up for me because you know how much it hurts me even though I've never said anything." Puck stayed quiet as he tried to register what she had just finished telling him. "Just because you don't know everything I enjoy doesn't mean you don't know me. Besides, you have lost of chances to get to know me." She smiled, then leaned over to kiss his jaw softly. "I had fun tonight." She looked at him once more and opened the door so she could hop out.

He watched her as she walked to her front porch. He marveled in the beauty she possessed.

Rachel closed the door behind her feel light. She liked when Puck turned into Noah. He was sweet, had a soft side, and was caring.

_That went okay._ Puck thought while he pulled out of her driveway.

*Thank you for the chance.*

-You deserved one, Noah.-

*Did you mean it? Do I get more chances?*

-Only if you want them.-

Puck fell backwards on his bed and smiled.

*What are you doing Friday?*

* * *

It was their fifth date, and they were back at Bruno's.

"Okay, today, I'm going to beat you." Rachel declared, grinning from ear to ear as she racked the balls.

"Oh, really?" Puck challenged. "Do you want to make a bet?" Puck raised an eyebrow.

"What would we bet?"

"If you win, and that's a big if, we can go to that place that you love."

"Kiwi Loco. Okay, and if you win?" She asked, chalking her cue.  
"No, babe, _when_ I win, I get to ask you a question." He stated.

'What's the question?" And, if you win, I'll give you an answer." Puck smiled, he knew that she was just trying to get him to tell her the question.

"Rach, would you be my girlfriend?" Rachel nearly dropped her cue.

"Noah," She whispered. "you know, I could give you an answer now." She hinted.

"Well, if you want to, I'd take it." Rachel laughed and kissed him.

"I'd love to."

* * *

**That's it for chapter 15. Wow. I can't believe this is almost over.**

**Thanks so much to those of you who read, reviewed, and put this on their alerts. You have no idea what that means as a writer.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

* * *

**_

He held her books in one hand, her hand in the other. People openly stared at the two, wondering what the hell happened over the weekend.

"Everyone is staring at us, Noah." Rachel whispered. She felt weird. Like really weird. She wasn't used to the attention.

"I don't think they can handle seeing two extremely good looking Jews together." He grinned at her.

"I doubt that they are overwhelmed by the presence of two, how did you put it?" She paused. "Extremely good looking Jews."

"I don't know why everyone is surprised." Puck handed her the books he'd been holding.

"You don't? Why?"

"Santana and Daniel told _everyone_ that we've been goin' on dates."

"Yes, but neither of them thought that you would actually want to have me as your girlfriend." Rachel admitted. Her tone told him that she hardly believed it herself.

"Just proves that that don't know me."

"Well, you've always said that you didn't do girlfriends." Rachel reminded him. He pulled her against him.

"You're different, babe." He told her with a shrug.

"Really now?" She smiled. He tilted her head up.

"Yes, you are." He kissed her softly. "I gotta go babe. I'll see you at lunch."

Santana watched the two interact, and she realized something. _Puck actually liked Rachel. He wasn't even trying to fuck her yet._ It almost made her appreciate her ex, if he hadn't dumped her for the overly dramatic glee queen. The only thing Santana failed to understand was why people wanted to be with her. First it was Finn, and then suddenly Puck wanted her. It just didn't make any sense.

Santana was a determined girl though, and she would get her man back. She just wasn't sure how.

* * *

Puck finally beat Finn. Not like they were in competition, (they totally were) but Puck got the girl this time. He wasn't sure how the hell that even happened, because at first he didn't even know he wanted the girl.

He knew when he finally realized he wanted Rachel. It was when he decided to give up all the easy cheerios and the very willing cougars to be with a girl that had no interest in jumping him, and it would be a long time, if ever. But he was okay. _Weird._

And he was more than happy to have her on his arm.

Rachel was so happy to be with Puck. She honestly was, but that did nothing to quell the worry that had settled in her stomach and constantly screamed at her. When was he going to start pushing for sex? Would she give it to him? What would happen if she didn't?

It occurred to her that this, the last two months anyway, is probably the longest Puck has gone without sex since he lost his virginity. Rachel had no idea when Puck had his first sexual experience, and now she was curious. She decided she'd have to ask him sometime.

She'd be one of the first to admit that she never expected to be Puck's girlfriend. He'd only had two before her and both were known for being very generous. Rachel wasn't considered generous like that.

She wanted her first time to be special; with someone she loved and loved her in return. Just months ago, she was sure that person was Finn, a part of her still wanted Finn to be the guy. But she couldn't deny the butterflies she got whenever Puck looked at her. They were so much more intense than anything she had ever felt because of Finn. Pucks eyes would burn into hers and she could feel a tingle in her lower stomach, heat collected there and coiled.

Puck was the kind of guy that required sexual contact to survive and Rachel didn't want her first time to be because her boyfriend had a nasty case of blue balls. (Yes, she had thought that. Puck was a terrible influence on her word choice.) That wasn't special.

They were in his backyard, looking at the stars when she asked him.

"How old were you when you lost your virginity?" Puck wasn't exactly surprised that she asked. He knew that it was going to come up sometime. He was ready for when it did.

"13." Rachel noted that there was no hesitation on his end, so this was an okay topic.

"Wow. Why so young?"

"It was a bet at football camp. Most of us were horny virgins. Whoever got laid by the end won."

"Who won?" She asked.

"It was a tie. So we decided the winner by who was with the hottest girl."

"So, you won?" Puck chuckled.

"Yes." Rachel laughed. "Why haven't you?" Rachel faltered at his question. She wasn't exactly prepared for him to ask.

"Um, I don't know. I want it to be special. With someone important to me." She explained. He let it go because Rachel was squirming. He took her hand and brought her closer to him.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this, Rachel?" Puck asked, his hand was gently holding her forearm keeping her inside the cab of the truck. They were near the field area where the plane crashed exactly one year ago.

"I have to, Noah. I need the closure." Rachel spoke quietly.

"Okay. Do you want me to wait here?"

"No. Please come with me." She looked up at him, eyes pleading.

"Alright." He let go of her arm and let her get out of his truck. She reached for the handle and stopped. She took a breath trying to calm her heart.

Puck watched as his girlfriend struggled with her many inner demons. He wanted to help her, wanted to go back and make it so the crash never happened. Then again, he'd started talking to her when he heard her cry **because** of the crash.

He was conflicted, completely torn between being with her and wanting to return her to normalcy. Confliction was yet another emotion that he dealt with poorly.

"You don't have to go with me." Rachel's voice broke into his thoughts. He opened his door to make an unspoken point.

"I'm here for you, babe." He said before climbing out and hurrying to the passenger side. He opened that door too, because she seemed unable to do it by herself. He extended his hand to her. She took it and used her other hand to grab the flowers that had been sitting between them since Lima. After she stepped out he spoke again. "Lead the way."

He didn't really need her to lead; he would have found the area easily. It seemed that Paul Berry was not the only one that died there. The clearing that held the crash site was nearly barren, except for the numerous bouquets of multicolored flowers that littered the landscape. With all the flowers, the place almost resembled a small graveyard.

Rachel knew exactly where she needed to go. There was a makeshift cross with 'Paul B' on the horizontal part. Rachel stood in front of it. He could see that she was crying, but he wasn't exactly sure what to do at that moment. He didn't want to ruin her moment, but he thought she could use a hug. And a hug is what he gave her.

As soon as he wrapped his arms around her, she fell into a fit of loud sobs. He pressed her body into his chest.

"It's gonna be okay, Rachel." Puck whispered into her hair. He held her tight to him as she cried out a sad goodbye in mourning of her daddy.

"I just miss him so much." She gasped. "It's not fair." She pulled from his arms and walked forward. She set the carnations next to the cross. Then she walked away and hurried back to his truck.

She didn't want to cry, she'd gone so far as to promise herself that she wouldn't. Still she sniffled and wiped at her eyes.

Five hours later, they were back at Rachel's house, they were laying in her room. More specifically, they were on her bed. He was on his back with her curled into his right side. She was sleeping now, but it definitely wasn't the type of sleep he hoped she was able to have. No, this sleep was fitful and haunted by the events from a year ago.

She was nearly choking with every inhale; tears fell as if black smoke was in her eyes.

"Rachel, baby." Puck gently shook his girlfriend. "You gotta wake up." When she stirred, her eyes were visibly bloodshot.

"Noah," She choked on the word mixed with salty tears. "I thought they had stopped. I was so sure that they were gone." Rachel cried, her words being chopped up by the occasional gasp for air.

"Shh, baby. Everything is gonna be fine." Puck assured. He kind of hated himself because both of them knew that he had no idea if things were going to be fine. And that worried him.

He felt like he was losing her now.

* * *

It was a snowy December night; exactly one year from the night Puck had asked Rachel to be his girlfriend. Last winter, it hadn't snowed until near mid-January. Of course, Rachel loved the fact that it was snowing on their one year anniversary. She was convinced that it was a sign from the fates or something that they were beautiful together. (He'd totally agree, even though they haven't had sex, if it didn't mean he'd be classed as a chick.)

The snow was something that always made Rachel happy, so that meant that Puck was happy by default. Mind you, his default setting was always happy when Rachel was around, even if they were fighting. Which, surprisingly, they didn't do a lot of.

They were spending their night, until her curfew, in his room. Rachel was on his bed, looking at the falling snow through his window. He was at the end of the bed playing a song that Rachel had never heard him play before. He was playing it flawlessly.

"What are you playing, Noah?" She asked, almost too quiet because she didn't want to stop him. "I don't recognize it." He didn't stop playing, but answered her.

"Why? You don't like it?" There was a hint of nervousness in his tone, an almost vulnerable childlike caution to it.

"It's beautiful." She replied. He looked over at her and smiled. "Who is it by?" She thought she couldn't look it up because she wanted to know if there were lyrics to what he was playing.

"It's called Rachel." He continued to strum out the tune.

"You wrote me a song?" She asked softly, surprised at his incredibly romantic gesture. "Noah…"

"Happy anniversary, baby." He said to her. Rachel sat up and moved so she was next to him. He was still playing the song, but Rachel could tell that he was nearing the end, so she sat silently while he ended the beautiful melody. When he was finished he set his guitar back in its case on the floor.

"Thank you for that." She said before she placed a kiss on his cheek bone. He moved his head to press his lips to hers.

While their lips connected, she thought about how much she appreciated Puck's immense kindness when it came to the elephant in the room, or their relationship. _Sex._ It wasn't something they had really talked about and in the entire year that they'd been together, he'd never pushed her farther than she wanted to go. Maybe that shouldn't have caught her by surprise, but it certainly did. He let her guide where she wanted his hands, and when she wanted them there. He never crossed the invisible lines of her body.

She couldn't say that she wasn't glad that he respected her, but it sort of seemed like he was trying to get her to admit that she wanted him. If she wanted him to touch her, she had to tell him. She was normally the one to initialize the make out sessions. She didn't exactly mind, but it sort of irritated her. She'd always seen Puck as a 'take charge' kind of man. Though, lately, he wasn't living up to those thoughts.

"Noah," she breathed. He pulled away from her mouth, perfectly content with the situation they were in.

He'd be the first one to admit, to himself anyway, that he wanted nothing more that to just rip her clothes off. There were so many times when he had to physically pull away from her so he wouldn't blur the lines that she wasn't ready to cross yet. He'd gotten to see and feel her boobs, and _Jesus_ he was grateful for that, but that was about as far as it went. He hadn't even been under her skirt.

His mind wandered to the memory of the only time Rachel touched him. Her hands were so skilled, it nearly caused him to explode just thinking about it, but he didn't. He wasn't Finn. He never 'arrived early' for a party.

"Yeah, baby," He looked into her eyes and his mouth went dry at what he saw there. Her brown eyes were considerably deeper in color and clouded by what was unmistakably want. He knew exactly what this meant. He was just a little bit unsure. Not _unsure_ about his skills, but about whether this is really what she wanted.

"I want you, Noah." She stated, so sure of what she was saying.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Obviously just asking because he was a good boyfriend. Fuck you, if you think otherwise. She only nodded because even as inexperienced as she was, she knew that words would ruin this moment.

He maneuvered their bodies so that they were both laying comfortably on his bed before he kissed her again. When he reached to undo her skirt, he waited to see if she would hesitate.

"Baby, if you wanna stop, you have to tell me _now._" His voice was begging with her. She shook her head to tell him that stopping wasn't part of the plan.

Rolling over, Rachel was wide awake in his bed. He was sleeping now, and she was contemplating the irony of losing her virginity to the school's resident and self proclaimed Sex God. Though, his title was definitely not in question, because her first time was _amazing._ Epic.

She just didn't know what people would say to her sleeping with Puck. No, not Puck. He was definitely Noah tonight. She forgot her worry about others' reactions as she thought about how he treated her. He patient and loving, that she didn't need him to even express the words. In her heart, she knew that he loved her. And she loved him.

Now, she only needed to figure out how to tell him so.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed the not so angsty chapter.**

**I really want to thank everyone that reviewed Ch. 15. **

**This is significantly shorter than I had planned, but I am satisfied with it.  
**

**I didn't post the extreme smut scene on here because I don't know the ages of all my readers, and because this is rated T. I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone, but it will be posted on my LiveJournal account later, so look for the link on my profile.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of its characters or the plot of the show. Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and Fox.**

**I do not own the song by Bon Jovi; I am just using it for a title.**

_**I do own this plot line.

* * *

**_

Puck was at the 'End of Wrestling Season' party at Mike's house. It was late and he was upstairs alone. At least, he was alone _now._ Minutes ago, he had a brunette in his lap. The thing was; the brunette was not his girlfriend, Rachel.

He had gotten into a fight with her earlier, but he couldn't remember why. He could only process that he had cheated on his girlfriend of over a year, his girlfriend that put out with a smile. He could punch himself.

He wanted to take it back, wished he had listened to the voice in his head, which sounded exactly like Rachel, that told him not to go upstairs. Now, he was faced with a tough decision that he didn't really get to make. He tell Rachel the truth and hope that she forgave him, or he could keep this a secret knowing that the chick he was just with had a taste for bloody revenge, and she had just gotten the best kind.

* * *

He stood at her door step, the nervous feeling that he had felt the first time he took her out had returned. He hated himself right now. He hated that he wasn't able to prevent that lapse in judgment.

"Noah," Rachel said as she opened the door. She had only assumed that it was him, and he came at the wrong time. She was waiting for her timer to go off, and she could see that his eyes held panic, just as her body did.

"Rach, I have to tell you something." She studied his face, and there was a pang in her chest that tightened into anxiety in her gut. There was something wrong. She could feel it in the air around them; she could see it in the way he was standing in front of her.

"I think I know already." She whispered when tears formed in her eyes.

"I don't know what happened." He said lamely. That seemed to be his excuse for every mistake he made.

"Yes, you do. We both do." Her voice still a slight whisper, but now held the edge of sadness and tears. He wanted to reach out to her, wanted to wipe the tears away as he had so many times before, but he knew now that he couldn't. He could feel the betrayal that filled the air before she even said a word. "It was Santana, wasn't it?" She asked, looking directly in his eyes. He didn't want to say it so he just nodded to confirm that she was right. She inhaled shakily. "I think-," She paused to inhale again and to look down because she was trying so hard to keep the tears from flowing. "I think you should go, Noah. I also think that there is no way we can continue our relationship."

"Rachel, please. Please don't do this. It was a mistake."

"I'd like to say that I'm sorry this is how things are ending, but I'm not. I think I knew that this would happen. You cheated on her with me, it is only fitting that you do the same with her. Except, you didn't sleep with me. We simply kissed. That action is nowhere near what you did with her." She looked up into his eyes. "Now," her voice strained. "I believe I asked you to go." She took a step backward into the house and closed the door.

She jumped when his fist hit it in anger.

* * *

He couldn't tell her that he loved her. He really did, love her that is. She wouldn't believe him if he told her now.

* * *

She returned to the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bath tub. She clutched her white plush pillow, the one that smelled like him, to her chest as she waited. When the timer finally went off, it took her a few minutes to get the courage to go to the counter.

She looked down at the test, saw those two lines screaming at her, and she fell to her knees, no longer feeling it necessary to keep the tears inside. Life as she knew it was over.

* * *

**That's it folks. I'll Be There For You is officially finished.**

**I want to give major thanks to those who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this. It means so much to me that you all stuck with me.**

**To future readers, I hope you enjoyed this. **

**Ps. There IS going to be a sequel. And it's gonna be fluffy and amazing. Promise.  
**


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